He Man: How I Met Your Mother
by YellowAngela
Summary: I was a big fan of the 80's He Man cartoon. But this is my take on how Randor and Marlena met and the problems they had to traverse in order to be together.
1. Chapter 1

**First of all to those following me for my Generator Rex stories, sorry this is a different fandom. To those in this fandom, let me explain how I got here. I grew up in the 80's and lived on a steady diet of HeMan, Transformers, GI Joe, Voltron, and My Little Pony (Yes, My Little Pony, don't judge me.). I was showing my 7 year old daughter old HeMan episodes and she loved them. That got me to thinking about what the fanfic world would write about this fandom. So I checked you guys out. I have to say, most writers on this site would put my writing to shame. You have some incredible stories here. I really have nothing to add. Then one day I was watching Rainbow Warrior with my daughter and I remembered I had a dream back in the day based on this episode. I dug through my memories, polished it a little and decided to submit it with fear and trembling. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Marlena Glenn adjusted the straps of the seat on her spaceship. She still had a few minutes to contemplate what she was about to do. Simple really. Test the new prototype, pride of the space program: the spaceship dubbed the Rainbow Explorer. The name was a little cheesy but who was she to argue with NASA scientists.

And it was an honor. Marlena worked her fingers to the bone to get here. Being one of the few women test pilots out there, she had to distinguish herself from everyone else. She had to be better than all the boys. In the end she was chosen out of all the applicants. Her family had mixed feelings about her accomplishments. Although they were proud of her, they were constantly concerned about her safety.

_Rainbow Explorer commence countdown… 5,4,3,2,1, ignition._

Marlena closed her eyes for a second steeling herself for the inevitable abuse on her body.

Then all too soon she felt gravity pull against her body as the spaceship lifted off. She gritted her teeth as the G forces shoved all her internal organs against her spine.

Then just as quickly she was released and she felt weightlessness enter her limbs.

She released the rocket boosters that helped launch her and activated the boosters on the spaceship.

She took the controls and began the test in earnest.

0o0

King Randor of Eternia stood on his balcony bemused. He was recently crowned king several weeks ago. Already his advisors and his noblemen were clamoring for him to choose a wife. They were a pushy lot. The women were no better, practically throwing themselves at him any chance they get. Not all of them were suited to be queen of Eternia. Most wanted the power and prestige that came with the title. Randor really wanted a helpmate. Someone who can help him run the affairs of the state yet would love him for who he is. There was one who fit the first part of the criteria perfectly. Lady Tala Baem of the Northern Kingdoms. Unfortunately, the thought of being with her raised his hackles. She was entirely too cold and calculating for his tastes. But at the moment she seemed like the most likely candidate out of the many, many women who sought his attentions. Randor groaned.

"Are you okay, sire?" Duncan's voice came from behind him.

"Do you have any inventions that can make me invisible to the courtiers?" Randor asked half jokingly, half seriously.

Duncan chuckled. "Sorry, sire. I don't. You're going to have to find another way to avoid them."

"That's the problem. I can't avoid them. I have to see them every single day." He paused for a breath, "And every day one person or another tries to introduce me to his daughter."

"Now that you're king, I'm sure it's only going to get worse." Duncan observed.

"Tell me about it." Randor sighed. "There are more important things to look after." His expression turned serious. "Any news?"

"There seems to be some activity around the dark hemisphere." Duncan admitted. But he quickly added, "But it's too soon to tell if it's the return of the snakemen."

"We can't take that chance. We need to send an envoy to Avion. We need to work out a truce with the birdmen." Randor noted.

"Who should lead it?" Duncan asked surprised.

"You should, my friend." Randor gripped Duncan's shoulder.

"Me? I'm no diplomat." Duncan raised an eyebrow.

"But you are the only one I trust." Randor released his shoulder and walked into the palace. "Don't worry. I'm sending Lord Fairan as well."

"But… but your majesty, I beg you to reconsider. What will I be doing there?" Duncan stammered.

"You will make sure everyone stays in line. Duncan, I know you can do it. This is too important. If the snakemen are back we will need Avion's help." Randor used a tone that left no room for arguing. "I myself will be heading to visit the Widgets to see if we will be able to have enough corodite in case… well, just in case."

"I understand, sire. I'll get the men ready." Duncan bowed before leaving.

Randor watched his friend go. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

0o0

Marlena's test run was going smoothly. So far the ship ran perfectly. The experimental lasers were amazing. It blasted through the debris like it was nothing. She almost felt like she was in a video game.

Then without warning the alarms in the ship began blaring.

"Mission control to Lieutenant Marlena Glenn. What's going on?"

"Meteor strike." Marlena tried to keep her voice neutral. She knew panicking was not going to help. The ship suddenly jolted.

"That's impossible! There's not supposed to be meteors within 10,000 kilometers of your location."

"Well, tell that to the meteors." Marlena said dryly.

Another meteor hit the ship. Communications cut out. Her instruments went haywire. She couldn't rely on them anymore. She could barely see out of the glass hatch; she was flying blind. The next meteor sent her ship spinning. As she tried to steady the spaceship she realized that one of her engines was not responding hence making the spin worse. She cut power to the other engine in hopes of stabilizing the ship. When the ship had stopped its gyrating, Marlena turned the engine back on to see if she could steer. It was then that there was a final strike. The ship was totally out of control now. With what little view she had of the outside she realized that she was quickly approaching a planet… it looked like Earth. Could the meteors have knocked her back to her own planet? She didn't know but she did know she was about to crash land.

0o0

Randor was returning from his visit to the Widgets. They had assured him that corodite production was going well and more importantly safely hidden. As he drew near the castle he realized that he was not looking forward to seeing the courtiers and dealing with the marriage issue.

A sound like thunder broke through his brooding. The sound came from the sky. To his horror he saw some strange metallic bird tumble from the sky. It was somersaulting until it seemed to right itself. It teetered in the air and then hit the ground carving out a deep groove. It finally pulled to a stop. Randor ignoring the cries of his guards ran to investigate. As he got closer he could feel the heat emanating from the object. He stopped in his tracks when he saw movement.

The hatch slid opened and a humanoid figure stumbled out. It took a few steps away from its craft, when to his surprise, the humanoid pulled its head off. No wait, it was some sort of helmet and … it was a woman. The woman seemed to be gasping for air before she collapsed on the ground.

Randor snapped out of his stupor when he saw her fall. He ran over to her side and gently picked her up. She was beautiful. His heart seemed to have seized in his chest. Now he was having a hard time breathing. Then the alien stirred in his arms.

"Are you all right? What happened?" were the first things he could think of to say.

"Meteor strike, hit the engines…" The woman rambled on saying things that he couldn't understand until she looked at him in surprise. "Oh, who are you? And where on Earth am I?"

That he understood. "I know not of Earth. I am Randor, king of Eternia."

"Eternia?" The humanoid looked confused. He set her down on her feet. She looked steady enough.

"You need rest. Return with me to my palace. You shall be my guest while you recover." Randor felt giddy as he looked into her eyes.

"But…" The lovely alien protested.

"I think you will find it comfortable and pleasant. In a few days, you will be well and can return to your Earth." Even as he said this he felt a funny feeling in his gut as if someone had punched him.

"I suppose I don't have much of a choice." Marlena said.

Randor frowned. "You always have a choice. I thought perhaps you would like some help…" He was suddenly worried that he had been too forward and that she was pulling away from him.

"No, I didn't mean to… I'm sorry if you thought… I do need help. I'm just a little overwhelmed right now." Marlena didn't know why she felt like she was back at high school. No longer was she the confident captain of a space ship but an awkward teenager.

She took a deep breath to collect herself.

Randor studied her. He wanted to put her at ease." I'll send my men to retrieve your ship. I have a talented person who can take a look at your ship. If there's anything in your ship that you want to bring with you, I'd be happy to get it for you."

Marlena was surprised. A king wanted to get her things? "No, it's all right. I'll do it." Marlena walked back to her ship. Jumping up to the hatch she grabbed a duffle bag that she had stored under her seat. She returned to Randor who now had several men bring over a chariot like vehicle pulled by what looked similar to the horses of Earth.

"My lady," Randor offered his hand. Marlena hesitantly took it. As soon as their hands touched it seemed like electricity flew through them. Startled Marlena actually yanked her hand back as if she was burned. A trouble look flew through Randor's face before it was quickly masked.

"I…I'm sorry." Marlena stammered, "it must have been static…"

"It…it's quite alright. " He assured her. He carefully held his hand out again. She took it again and climbed aboard and sat down on the velvet like seat. Her bulky suit took up much of the space much to her chagrin so that Randor had to squeeze himself in next to her. It couldn't have been comfortable.

But if he was put out he didn't show it. "To the castle." He ordered and the vehicle took off.

0o0

When Marlena saw the castle for the first time, her jaw dropped. She was already impressed by the scenery on the way to the palace but this was in a whole different league. She stared in wide-eyed wonderment at the size and ornate style of architecture. Randor allowed himself to study her as her attention was completely diverted. She was lovely to behold and the questions she had asked him on their drive proved she had a keen mind. Everything seemed to delight her which in turn delighted him. Now watching her obviously impressed by his home he felt his body swell with pride.

"You live here?" She asked almost in a whisper. Before he could answer, she shook herself. "I'm so sorry. That was a stupid thing to say." She blushed prettily.

"No, no, it's not stupid at all. It is rather … overwhelming." He couldn't find the words at the moment. Luckily they were both spared anymore awkward conversation when the vehicle pulled to a stop. A servant pulled open the door and Randor stepped out. He held out his hand again for her. She took it as she continued staring at the high towers and turrets surrounding them.

"It's amazing and beautiful." She gasped.

_Like you._ He almost said but caught himself in time. Instead he replied, "My servants will take you to your room. I had sent some men ahead to inform them that you were coming. Please, if there is anything you need don't hesitate to ask."

Marlena was about to say that he had done more than enough when her stomach took that moment to betray her.

At the rumbling, Randor burst out laughing. Marlena although mortified couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I guess I can't hide that one." She said in between her laughter.

"I'll send some food up." Randor liked that she didn't take herself too seriously.

"Thank you, your majesty. You have been most kind but I must refrain since I am on an alien planet and don't know how things here could affect me. I have my own provisions for now." Marlena said regretfully.

"I understand. You are right to be cautious." He nodded. "But please call me Randor."

"I... I… thank you, your majesty but it would be unseemly for me to address the ruler of a planet so informally." Alarms were going off in Marlena's head.

Disappointment flooded through Randor. "Whatever you are more comfortable with, Lady Marlena."

Marlena was saved from answering when a servant came and bowed before the king.

"The room for the visitor is ready, sire."

"Please, show her to her room then." Randor commanded.

The servant bowed to his liege before turning to Marlena. He wordlessly took her bag from her and walked away. Marlena assumed that was her cue to follow. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to curtsey or bow before taking her leave. She just turned and smiled shyly at Randor.

"Thank you again." She said before turning to follow the servant.

"I will see you tonight perhaps." Randor wasn't sure why he was nervous as he said this.

"I'd like that." Marlena replied softly before hurrying after the quickly moving man.

Randor watched until she disappeared from sight a slightly goofy smile plastered on his face. Another person watched unamused by this interchange.

0o0

The room was huge. Whatever she was expecting it wasn't this. She was led into a sitting room where the servant put her bag down on a table.

"Will there be anything else?" He asked in a neutral voice.

"Yeah, what's the zip code?" Marlena joked weakly.

"I'm sorry?" The startled man asked nervously.

"Nothing, sorry. I forgot I'm not on Earth anymore. I'm fine. Thank you. That will be all." Marlena knew she had bewildered the poor man.

The servant quickly exited, probably glad to get away from the strange alien.

Marlena sighed. She supposed she should get out of her cumbersome spacesuit and into something more maneuverable. The problem was there was nothing in her duffle bag suited for the occasion. Most clothes brought on were meant to be jettisoned upon reentry so they were not the nicest clothing she had. They were just comfortable which might be what the doctor ordered right now. She started to take off the suit.

Randor walked to his throne room still in a daze. What will he do with her tonight? Maybe show her the gardens? That was always impressive or maybe the library would be more appropriate? She was curious. He was running through several million activities when he almost walked into someone.

"Oh, Lord Baem. Forgive me. I did not see you there." King Randor said tersely. He was slightly annoyed by the interruption.

"No need for apologies your majesty. I do, however, need a word with you." The odious man said.

"Can this wait, Lord Baem?" King Randor was not in the mood to deal with another question on his marital status.

"Actually, sire, it can not, as it deals with the security of our planet." Lord Baem said sternly.

"What are you talking about, Lord Baem?" Randor narrowed his eyes.

"This visitor that you've brought back, what do you know of her?" He asked pointedly.

"She is just someone in need, Lord Baem. We do not turn away ones who need help." Randor did not like where this was going.

"How do you know she is not a spy from the snakemen you are so fearful of?" He questioned.

"She doesn't look like a snakeman." Randor said dryly.

"It could be a trick." Baem was starting to lose his patience as was Randor.

"I assure you Lord Baem, she is not from the snakeman. She is merely a visitor who crashed on our planet and needs help getting home." Randor grounded out.

"Oh so she's going to leave then?" Baem seemed to visibly relax.

Now Randor saw what was going on. "Yes, Lord Baem. She is trying to get home."

"I see, then very well. Provided she will be leaving…"He paused with an eyebrow cocked.

"As soon as her ship is fixed." Randor provided.

"And when will that be?" Lord Baem continued.

"Whenever Man-at-Arms is able to look at it." Randor grew tired of the conversation.

"Which is…" Baem was pushing his luck.

"Enough!" Randor snapped. "This conversation is at an end, Lord Baem. And in the future I would suggest you think before interrupting me about such trivial matters."

"Security of the planet…" He began.

"Is none of your concern. Now good day." Randor pushed passed the indignant noble to get to his throne room. He was now fuming. Leave it to the courtiers to ruin a perfectly good day. What does it matter to them if he wanted to help out a beautiful alien? He knew that Lord Baem wanted to be the father-in-law of the king. But there was no need to worry since she was leaving anyway. At that thought he stopped walking. She was leaving and he would never see her again. The thought bothered him more than he could imagine. He continued walking to the throne room. He didn't even notice the servants open the door for him. He blindly walked to his throne and sat down. The rest of the time passed in a blur.

**Is anyone interested in me continuing? I can continue with more details or I can end with an epilogue.** **It may take awhile to finish depending on time and the fact that my main fandom is Generator Rex.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, okay I wasn't expecting anyone to actually read this. So I guess I will continue to add more to this story. And I saw the original My Little Pony and my daughter is watching the current reincarnation of the show. I didn't know there were any in-between ones. **

**I do not own the characters or the show.**

Marlena sat on the bed, which she finally found after wandering around the huge sitting room and opening various doors. Honestly, her last apartment wasn't this big. She stared at her reflection in the ornate, free-standing mirror. She had originally put on a white t-shirt and sweats but after seeing her reflection decided to change into her standard issue blue jumpsuit with the NASA logo and her name sown on. She figured she should try to look official. She was still reeling from the day'events.

She couldn't believe she was knocked from space and onto an alien planet whose atmosphere was just like Earth's and whose people spoke English of all languages. On top of that she crash landed right in front of the exceedingly handsome ruler of the planet who immediately offered her help and shelter. What were the odds? Because it seemed too good to be true, she had trouble believing her luck would last.

Something had to go wrong and so what was the least thing she'd expect? The food. Although she would have loved to have a real meal, she didn't know if it would be lethal to her… which is why she was alone in the room eating her ration bar staring at herself in the mirror. But realistically Marlena realized she only bought so much food with her. Eventually she would run out. Best case scenario she would already be on her way home. Worse case she would starve to death.

That didn't seem likely. She was sure she could find something to eat. What was really bothering her was the not knowing if she would ever get home. Disturbing questions danced in her head. How far did the meteors knock her off course? How badly damaged was her ship? Could it ever fly again? How would she break through the gravitational pull of this planet? Did the people here have the technology to even help her? Marlena thought of her family and friends. What she wouldn't give to see and hear them again… to hear her siblings teasing each other, the gruff voice of her father, the soft lilting tone of her mother. Blinking away the tears that threatened to fall, she shook herself. Well, whatever may come, moping in her room was not going to help. Always curious, she decided to explore a little. Randor never said she couldn't leave her room. Taking a deep breath she walked out into the sitting room and exited through the door.

She looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around. Strange. Three paths lay before her. Feeling childish but having no other ideas on how to proceed, she did eeny menny minny moe. "Left it is!" She declared before setting down the hall.

0o0

Meanwhile Randor was listening to his courtiers complain about various minor issues with only half his attention. The rest was taken up by the visitor in the guest wing. What excuse can he give for going to see her? Dinner was out of the question. She was worried about the food which was a smart thing to be concerned about. You never can be too careful. Wait! Should he have offered to have the healers take a look at her? She looked fine but she could be hurt in some way not visible to the eye. That was stupid of him. Maybe she was passed out in her room right now. How can he sneak away and check on her with all these people milling about and talking to him? While he grew more paranoid on the inside, on the outside he was the picture of a calm, interested ruler, nodding every so often to indicate that he was paying attention.

He was relieved when the last one approached him… until he said, "Your highness, it has been brought to our attention that a strange alien landed on our planet and that it is here in the castle." It was Malkine one of his father's oldest advisors. Randor never liked Malkine but because of his many years of service to his father, Randor had kept him on.

"**She **is indeed here, Malkine." Randor answered him. "And I fail to see what the problem is."

"How do we know **she** isn't a hostile?" Malkine did not take kindly to his majesty's tone.

"And how would she be a hostile if she crash landed alone on an unknown planet?" Randor was growing agitated.

"We demand that she be put in the dungeon until it is proven that she has no evil intent." Malkine said sternly.

A wave of anger hit Randor. He wondered who the **we** referred to. "Marlena Glenn is a guest in **my** palace. She will **not** be spending anytime anywhere other than the guest suite. **You** will do well to remember **your** place Malkine."

It was clear that Malkine was not use to being address this way. His eyes narrowed. "Of course, **your majesty**_._ I was not being impertinent but the security of our planet…"

"Is my concern and if I need any advice you will be the first to know." Randor interrupted him. "If that is all, then court will be dismissed today. Till tomorrow." Randor stood up signaling that he was done. Silence followed him as he walked out of the room. The lords and ladies of the court bowed as he passed by. But as soon as the door closed the buzzing started.

Randor knew that they were talking about him but he didn't care. He needed to see if Marlena was all right. He kept berating himself for not taking her to see the healers first. He didn't realize he was almost running. He rounded the corner so fast that he collided with a small soft figure which he fell on top of.

"Owww, hey, where's the fire?" A familiar voice asked. It was Marlena. She looked up at him from the floor.

"I…I…I'm so sorry. " Randor was mortified. He scrambled off her. "I didn't see you. Here let me help you." To his consternation he realized that somehow the sleeve of his robe was somehow stuck on her clothing.

"Oh, your sleeve is caught on my zipper." Marlena said in surprise as he tugged. "Wait, your majesty, or you'll rip it."

Randor wasn't sure if she meant his robe or her 'zipper'. But either way he was starting to blush as he realized his arm was awfully close to her chest.

Marlena, however, was more concerned with trying to free herself without tearing her only jumpsuit. "Almost there. Hang on." Marlena was so close he could smell the scent of whatever she used to wash her hair. "There, got it." She looked up and realized his face was very close to hers. It was her turn to blush when she realized that he was practically sitting in her lap. "Ummm, do you think you can uhh…" She was trying to find a tactful way to ask him to get off.

"Oh, yes, of course. That's what I was trying to do when I realize that I got caught on your… what do you call it?" Randor pulled her up all the while avoiding her eyes.

"It's a zipper. Don't you have those things here?" She too avoided looking at him.

"Your majesty! Are you all right?" A guard was running down the hall breathless. "We heard a commotion." His gaze fell to the strangely dressed woman.

"Everything is fine. Just a little accident." He tried not to blush in front of the guard. "You are dismissed."

"But your highness," The guard protested but stopped when the king glared at him. "As you wish." He immediately amended before backing away.

Randor turned back to Marlena who was smoothing out her clothes and hair. He remembered why he was in such a hurry.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

Marlena turned to him in surprise. "I'm fine, why?"

"I was afraid that perhaps you might have been injured during the crash." He explained. To his surprise she burst out laughing.

"So just in case I wasn't hurt you decided to make sure I was." She laughed.

Randor sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, a decidedly unkingly thing to do but one that Marlena found endearing. "Sorry about that. How about we go see the healers to make sure I haven't permanently damaged you."

"Oh, I doubt that. I have two older brothers." She smiled as if that explained everything.

"Well, regardless, I'd feel better if our healers examined you." Randor was insistent.

"I guess it can't hurt. Maybe I can find out a little about your physiology as well." Marlena allowed Randor to lead her to the healers.

0o0

"Well?" Randor asked the healer impatiently.

"Remarkable." He muttered for what must have been the hundredth time.

"Can you be a little more specific?" Randor folded his arms.

"This alien…" He began.

"Marlena." Randor corrected him.

Fine, Marlena has almost the exact anatomy of an Eternian. In fact if it wasn't for some of these anomalies I'd say she was Eternian." The healer looked through something similar to a microscope.

"What anomalies?" Marlena asked curious.

"Well, you are missing some enzymes we have to synthesize certain types of organic compounds." The healer answered fiddling with his instruments.

"Meaning?" Randor prompted.

"She should stay away from our wine." The healer answered dryly.

"Ah, got it." Marlena said getting up. "Well, that solves my problem with food."

"Then would you like to join me for dinner?" Randor asked quickly.

"I'd love to." Marlena smiled. Randor's smile grew broader. He excused himself as he walked over to some of his servants.

Marlena watched him go. Then remembering why she was there in the first place, she turned to the healer and asked, "So how am I doing?"

"You have a slight concussion and minor abrasions on your face and hands. Other than that you are in good health. If you don't mind, I would like to take another blood sample to study." He held up a needle.

Marlena winced but said, "Knock yourself out."

The healer looked shocked. "Well, there's no need to get violent. I just wanted to get some more data on you. It's not everyday you meet an alien."

"No, no, it's an Earth expression. It means sure." Marlena quickly corrected herself. She realized that she was going to be a lot more careful what she said around these people.

The healer looked relieved as he injected the needle into her arm.

"All done. If I have any questions…" The healer looked expectantly at Marlena.

Marlena inwardly sighed. She supposed that if an alien had landed on Earth doctors would be interested in studying them too.

"I'll be happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability." She answered truthfully.

"Excellent. Have a good dinner." The healer immediately turned to tend to the samples.

Marlena got off the exam table and walked over to Randor who was talking to some servants. As she approached the servants scampered away.

"Are you ready?" Randor's smiled. It gave her a warm feeling and she couldn't help smiling back.

"Yes, let's go before he asks to dissect me." She chuckled.

Randor frowned. "I would never let anyone hurt you."

"Oh, I was just joking. I know that none of you would hurt me." _Darn it Marlena, what did we just say about watching what we say! _She chided herself.

Unfortunately, Randor could think of several people at court who would be more than happy to see her injured.

"I would **never** let anyone hurt you." Randor repeated firmly. He walked out of the medical room. Marlena stared after him for a second before going after him.

0o0

Marlena never saw so much food in her life. "Is this just for the two of us?" She asked stunned. They sat across from each other at a rather large table filled with food. Randor didn't want the nobility to bother her so he had ordered that his private dining room be made ready for two tonight.

Randor hid a smile. "Well, I wasn't sure what you would like so I had the kitchen staff make a little of everything."

"What's this?" Marlena pointed at something orange.

"It's an Eternian flower picked before it matures, battered, and fried." Randor supplied.

"Oh like zucchini flowers, back on Earth." Marlena said delighted. "I love those."

Randor had worried that dinner would be awkward but Marlena was a pleasant conversationalist. The talk turned from food to similarities and differences in their world to their families. By then end of the night they were laughing and talking like they had known each other all their lives. They hardly noticed when the servants came and cleared the plates. It wasn't until one of the servants addressed him that Randor realized they were sitting at an empty table.

"Would you like to see the gardens?" Randor asked trying to think of a way to make the evening last.

"Oh, I'd love to." Marlena replied.

Randor offered her his arm and she happily looped hers through.

They walked to the gardens. Randor ignored the stares and whispers of the nobility as they walked past them to get to the gardens. Marlena noticed the cold looks and disapproving glares she was getting. She chalked it up to being an alien on their planet.

The servants opened the garden gates. Marlena gasped when she walked through.

"Wow, this is beautiful." Marlena let go of Randor's arm and walked out the gardens entranced. There were all sorts of beautiful flora and fauna as well as large trees. A large marble-like fountain lay in the middle. Randor thoroughly enjoyed the look of pure joy on her face as she spun around looking at all the sights.

Of course, it couldn't last.

"Sire, I have a message from the council of elders." A page ran in and knelt before the king.

"What is it?" He asked impatiently.

"They wish that the alien appear before them immediately." He presented the parchment to the king.

The king snatched the parchment and opened it up. His eyes ran down the content. Randor angrily crumpled up the paper.

"This is preposterous!" He grounded out.

"Something wrong, your majesty?" Marlena asked apprehensively walking toward them.

"No, nothing. I won't allow you to be interrogated like a common …" He stopped when Marlena put a hand on his arm.

"Please, your majesty, if there is something I should do, I'll do it. I don't want to be the cause of any contention in your kingdom." Marlena said. She turned her attention to the page. "What should I do?"

"The council of elders would like to meet you. I am here to take you to them." The page said.

"I'll go with you." Marlena said decidedly.

The page got up and walked through the garden gates. Marlena followed him, trailed by a very annoyed king.

**So I did some research on the history of He-man and depending on what source you use there are so many conflicting back stories and expositions that my head started hurting trying to sort everything out. For example in Teela's Quest, Marlena's ship was called Valiant and she was swept off course by a cosmic storm. In Rainbow Warrior, Marlena was in a meteor strike and the space ship was called Rainbow Explorer. I am a devoted follower of canon but even I couldn't unravel the contradiction that is He-man. So I am making up a few things to add to this story to move it along. ****So if you watch the MYP production of He-man, the council of elders was the past rulers of Eternia. I do not recall if they ever appeared in the old 80's series. Then again I watched the show when I was about 10 years old so excuse the hazy memory. I have gone back and watched a few episodes online but I don't remember every single detail. **

**So long story short I have a few things in here that may not be canon.**** Let me know what you think. I will try to update regularly.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much for reading. I forgot to mention last time that high expectations make me nervous. Please lower your expectations since I really don't know what I'm doing. **

**Guest: Thank you for the long comment. I really appreciate your feedback. I've always wondered what kinds of problems Marlena would have to overcome to become queen of an alien planet. This story's only going to go up to where my dream ended which you will have to read to find out. Sorry, don't want to give out any spoilers.**

**AdTeeFan and hooked: Thank you for your encouragement. I appreciate it. **

**TeelanaFalcao: ****Tem uma história engraçada. Eu tenho um amigo cuja família é do Brasil, mas eles são de ascendência chinesa. Então, quando me encontrei com eles só falavam Português ou mandarim. Desde que eu só falar cantonês, Inglês, e um pouco de espanhol, não fomos capazes de se comunicar muito bem. Eu também tenho um estudante de matemática que só recentemente veio do Brasil. Estou tentando tutor dele, mas tem sido difícil. Então eu preciso aprender Português. De qualquer forma, obrigado por sua review.I vou tentar o meu melhor para fazer a melhor história possível.**

**I do not own the show or the characters even my mind is a little suspect.**

Marlena stood on the outer edges of a large circular room. Three men sat high above on the other side. Marlena was use to standing before high-ranking officials with questions. What made her nervous was that these men were glowing, which was not normal where she was from. King Randor was stopped at the door and initially refused entry. But he was finally allowed to watch from the side after he protested loudly. She gave him a small smile before she squared her shoulders and walked to the center.

"State your name." One of the glowing men demanded.

"I am Marlena Glenn, lieutenant in the United States Air Force." Then as an after thought she added, "from Earth."

"Marlena Glenn, why have you come here?" Another man asked.

"It was not my choice. I was testing a spaceship which was brought down by meteorites." Marlena explained.

"What is the purpose of this spaceship? Is it for war?" The third one wondered.

"No, the purpose is for exploration. My people are curious as to what is outside our own world." Marlena replied.

"So this 'spaceship' is not meant to destroy?" The second one questioned.

"Well, anything can be used to destroy but that was not our intent." Marlena answered.

"Very well put. So you have come peacefully from a peaceful planet?" The third one now spoke again.

"I come peacefully, but if your planet is anything like my planet there are people who want peace and those who want war." Marlena said.

The men whispered among themselves. Marlena tried not to fidget. She knew her answers could be getting her into real trouble but she knew for her own conscience's sake that she couldn't lie.

"Marlena Glenn, do you know why you are here?" The first one now spoke.

"Umm, is that an existential question?" Marlena asked confused.

"You have a sense of humor, I see." He replied without smiling. "It is also well that you are honest. What say you Sorceress?"

To Marlena's surprise a woman dressed like a falcon appeared in a flash of light. She floated in mid-air.

"She has answered truthfully. There is no deceit in her." The woman answered in an ethereal voice.

Marlena thought her jaw must be scraping the floor. This was a little too much for her.

"You're flying." It was all she could think of to say.

"Is there no magic where you are from?" The woman called the Sorceress asked.

"No, not really. Not unless you count Houdini." Marlena joked weakly.

The woman floated down and walked over to her. Marlena tried not to flinch when she touched her shoulder.

"Marlena Glenn, welcome to Eternia. Forgive the questions. It was necessary to test your heart."

"So does my heart pass?" Marlena asked.

The Sorceress smiled kindly, "Yes. We have seen that your heart is honest and good."

"Well, that's a relief." She smiled back but then it faltered a little, "You learned all that from those few questions?"

"I learned many things from your answers." The Sorceress said mysteriously. "And I know many things in the universe."

"Like maybe how I can get home?" Marlena asked hopefully.

The woman looked thoughtful, "Your future is for you to decide and you must decide wisely. You have two paths you can take. Both will require you to make painful sacrifices. But one will change the course of many lives."

"That sounds scary." Marlena observed.

One of the council of elders suddenly spoke up. "Marlena Glenn you are free to go and may the ancients be with you. King Randor, you may tell your nobles and advisors that we have judged the Earthling to be ... friendly."

Marlena looked back at Randor whose face was grim. He merely nodded.

"Marlena, you may step out. King Randor we need to speak with you."

Marlena left. Randor stood in front of the council.

"Randor, it is imperative that you help Marlena find her home." The Sorceress said firmly.

Randor felt his stomach twist but he answered, "I will."

"Good, there will be adversity but I know you can overcome it." In a flash of light she disappeared as did the rest of the council. Randor stood in the empty room. Then with a heavy heart he turned and walked out.

0o0

"So what just happened." Marlena asked Randor when he came out.

"They are the council of elders and the Sorceress. They are the guardians of Eternia." Randor said wearily. He brushed past her without looking at her.

"What do you mean?" Marlena was still a little dazed by the encounter and confused by his manner. She followed him as he walked at a fast clip down the hall.

"They protect Eternia with their powers." Randor said tersely.

Marlena wondered what had happened. Was it something she said or did? She almost had to jog to keep up with him. It seemed like he was trying to get away from her. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He said curtly.

"You don't sound fine to me." Marlena was starting to get annoyed by his brusque manner.

"I said, I'm fine." He snapped.

"Well, that's good because if you're going to be churlish this is where I take my leave, your majesty." Marlena turned abruptly and left him.

Randor stopped and stared dumbfounded at her as he realized what he did. "Wait, Marlena!" He called after her. She did not turn around but quickly rounded the corner. He was about to go after her when another messenger approached him.

"Your highness, the delegation from Avion has returned and they have guests with them. Your presence is required in the throne room." The servant bowed low.

Randor looked in the direction Marlena had gone off in. Although he wanted to go after her, he had a job to do. He turned to the messenger. "Very well, tell them I am on my way."

The servant nodded and raced off. Randor resisted the urge to go after Marlena. He gritted his teeth and headed for the throne room.

0o0

Okay, so maybe I over-reacted. He is the king after all. He's entitled to mood swings. And I wasn't exactly the picture of decorum either. Marlena had time to cool off as she wandered the castle lost. She should have had the good sense to at least let him lead her to a part of the castle she was familiar with before she stalked off to God-knows-where now. After turning down the fifth similar looking hallway she gave up. She wasn't a man and had no problems asking for directions. The problem was there was no one around to ask directions from. "Where is everyone?" She wondered out loud. Her voice echoed through the empty halls. "Great, now I'm talking to myself."

Everyone as it were was in the throne room. It was a late night gathering which was unusual. But the circumstances were unusual themselves. The envoy from Avion had returned and with them some unexpected guests… birdmen.

As Randor made his way to the throne room he spotted Duncan. After getting his attention, Duncan quickly came over.

"This is unexpected." Randor stated.

"I told you I was no good at this." Duncan said ruefully. "The bird people refused to talk to us. They wanted to come see you personally. They are a distrustful lot and felt that we were hiding something."

"I see. So who is here?" Randor needed to get as much information before meeting the diplomats.

"Stratos, their leader as well as his two of his honor guards." Duncan replied.

"Their leader came?" Randor asked surprised.

"I told you they were mistrustful of us." Duncan repeated.

"So he's here to see if we are trustworthy." Randor mused to himself. He immediately headed to his throne room before the guests, who were given an opportunity to freshen up, could arrive. Duncan stood on his right side. Randor glanced at the empty space to the left of him. It was suppose to be where his future queen would sit. For a second an image of Marlena appeared in his peripheral vision. When he snapped his head to see, there was nothing there. Randor shook his head to clear it. Now was not the time to go insane. He had to be at his best when the birdmen…

"Have arrived!" The herald called out as the doors of the throne room swung open.

Stratos strode in regally with his two guards a few steps back on either side of him. He stopped at the foot of the stairs to the throne.

"Your majesty, King Randor of Eternia." Stratos addressed him formally. "I am Stratos, leader of the bird people in the Mystic Mountains. I have come to seek an audience with you."

"Stratos, leader of the bird people, we welcome you to Eternia and are honored by your presence." Randor answered back with equal formality.

The nobles who have gathered even at that late hour were there because of curiosity. No one had ever seen a birdman before. There were rumors and innuendos of what they were like but to see one in person was too great a chance to pass up no matter how tired they were.

"Forgive us for the lateness of our appearance but we did not want to spend the night in the woods." Stratos continued.

"Of course, we would not dream of having you camp outside." Randor replied.

"You have sent men to seek peace with us." Stratos continued as if Randor hadn't spoken. "But we believe peace is impossible if past offenses are not addressed."

"And what would that be?" Randor inquired.

"My people have not had good experiences with your people. Many have tried to steal the Egg of Avion. " Stratos informed him.

"I was not aware of any attempts on your property..." Randor protested.

Stratos interrupted him, "It shows that you can not be trusted. In order for there to be peace there must be trust."

"I agree. " Randor interjected. "Trust is paramount in order to establish a treaty among our people."

The answer seemed to take Stratos aback for a second. But then he came out attacking again. "So you will agree that in order for us to proceed you will give us the lands around Mystic Mountain. We will establish a perimeter around our home to protect it. "

Several gasps came from the court. Such audacity! Stratos was basically asking Randor to forfeit some of his kingdom to the birdmen. They looked to see Randor's response.

"We have not agreed to anything, yet." Randor said calmly. If he was offended or angry he did not show it. "Perhaps this is a matter we should discuss in the morning after you and your party have had a chance to rest from your travels." Randor said tactfully.

"Very well, but if anything happens to me or my men, the birdmen will rain down blood upon your kingdom." Stratos said haughtily. He turned and walked out of the room.

Randor with a quick nod of his head had his servants scrambling to lead the men to their rooms. Randor then dismissed the court.

The nobility left chattering among themselves about the strange occurrences of the day. First an alien, now insolent birdmen, what more could happen?

"Duncan, I need to talk to you." Randor turned to his most trusted friend when the last of the nobles have left and they were alone.

"I'm sorry about…" Duncan started apologizing for his failure.

"Forget that. I have something more important." Randor said almost frantically.

Duncan raised an eyebrow.

0o0

Marlena sat on the floor in the hallway. After going through all of the verses of 99 Bottles of Beer, she got up and decided to wander some more. It was ridiculous that she hadn't seen a single soul in all her time singing the stupid song. She made sure she was nice and loud too so that someone passing could hear her. No, there was no one. Well, serves her right for stalking off like that. She really needed to watch her temper, her tongue, her attitude… she could go on forever listing her faults but that would not get her found. Then she started to giggle. "Marlena Glenn, intrepid astronaut, survives spaceship crash on an alien planet only to die of starvation wandering the hallways of a castle." She imagined a skeleton with cobwebs lying on the beautiful carpet in the hallway. The absurdity of it made her laugh some more which help lighten her spirit. She decided to get up and try again.

Finally after turning a corner she recognized a painting. She must be on the right track. Sure enough she saw the guest wing. She was making a beeline to her room when she saw someone standing on the balcony.

Curious she wandered over. She thought she was the only guest here. Her foot stepped on something that creaked. The figure jumped and spun around with some sort of weapon aimed at her.

"Oh, sorry for startling you. I was just coming out to…" Marlena trailed off as the figure stepped into the light. She could see it wasn't fully human. There was grey fur and feathers and his facial features resembled that of something from the simian family. Wings came out of his forearms.

"Well, what were you going to say?" The figure demanded.

"I…I just thought that I was the only one staying here." Marlena finished lamely.

"What are you staring at?" He snapped.

"Forgive me. It's just that I'm new here. I mean really new like from another planet new." Marlena knew she sounded like an idiot and from the scowl on the man's face she knew she wasn't making a good first impression.

"Are you making sport with me?" He snarled.

"No, I'm serious. Look, do any Eternians dress like this." She waved at her jumpsuit. "I crash landed this morning on your planet."

The bird man relaxed. "It is true that your garb is different from what everyone else has been attired in. But then again, I don't leave the Mystic Mountain much."

"Mystic Mountain? That sounds beautiful."

"It is. We bird people have always lived there… far away from these non- bird people and their trivial problems." He sniffed.

"Hmmm." Marlena said.

"What is that suppose to mean?" The man's scowl was back.

"Well, it seems to me that you don't look highly upon the non-bird people." Marlena walked over to the ledge of the balcony and leaned on it.

"They are petty and small-minded." He replied also copying her actions.

"And there is no one like that among your people?"

"Well… we are far more… we are…" The man seemed to be stuck for an answer. He stopped and looked at her. "You are good." He admitted.

"Listen, a wise man from my planet once said that people should be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of your skin… or in your case feather-fur."

The man looked startled for a second before he burst out in a guffaw. "I like you alien. What is your name?"

"Marlena Glenn," she held out her hand.

The man stared at it.

"Oh sorry on my planet we introduce ourselves with a handshake." Marlena explained reaching out and grasping his hand.

"I see. My name is Stratos, leader of the bird men." He returned her handshake.

"Well, Stratos it's nice meeting you. But it's getting late and I should probably get some sleep before I have to apologize to King Randor." Marlena said.

"Apologize?" Stratos frowned.

"Yes, I wasn't very nice this evening especially since he has been nothing but kind and considerate towards me." Marlena said contritely.

"And what kind of man do you think Randor is?" Stratos asked carefully.

"I think he is an honorable, thoughtful, trusting, selfless man." Marlena replied. "I mean look an alien lands on your planet and the first thing you do is offer her food and shelter. Then worries if you've been injured. And then tries to help you get home. I think all those speak for themselves."

"Indeed it does. Thank you, Marlena."

"For what?"

"For enlightening me."

"Oh, you're welcome I guess. Good night."

"Good night?"

"Oh, sorry. On Earth, where I'm from, it's sort of a parting phrase before we go to sleep."

"Very well, good night to you too."

Marlena smiled and walked to her room. Stratos watched her thoughtfully as she entered her chambers.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you AdTeeFan, hooked, TeelanaFalcao(Obrigado pelo vosso apoio**.**)****, Lanafalcon (Mi español es muy malo . Una vez hice una llamada telefónica a una madre para decirle que su hija estaba pasando tiempo en el pasillo hablando con sus amigos en lugar de ir a clase. Ella pensó que yo dije que estaba saliendo con un chico. La madre se molestó tanto que se acercó a la escuela para averiguar quién era el muchacho . Aprendí a tener un traductor a partir de entonces . De hecho , yo uso Google Translate todo el tiempo.)**,** and Guest for reading. I'm glad you like it. I hope it continues to entertain you.**

**I do not own the franchise or characters. **

"So let me get this straight. This metal ship fell from the sky and this beautiful alien appears. You bring her here. All your nobles and advisers are suspicious of her... " Duncan said.  
>"Not all my nobles and advisors… just Baem and Malkine." Randor interrupted.<br>"Most of your nobles and advisors..." Duncan repeated looking at Randor pointedly. "If they expressed their... opinions no doubt there are others who feel the same."  
>"Point taken." Randor sighed.<br>"Okay where was I?" Duncan closed his eyes. "Oh yes, and the council of elders and the sorceress says she in not a threat and has commanded you to get her home." As Duncan thought through what he said his face lit up, "And you are finally smitten with someone."  
>"I am not smitten..." Randor protested. Then at Duncan's skeptical look he amended. "Okay maybe a little. But it doesn't matter since she has to go home anyway plus right now she's angry at me."<br>"You failed to mention that part." Duncan raised an eyebrow.  
>"Well, I might have taken out my frustration on her." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "She probably won't even talk to me now. I guess it's all for the best. Can't go falling in love with someone who'll be leaving soon."<br>Duncan never saw his friend so miserable before in his life. Sure he was distraught when his father disappeared and upset when his siblings left him to rule by himself. But this was different. Randor actually looked defeated.  
>"Maybe I won't be able to fix her ship." Duncan hinted.<br>Randor's face lit up for a second. But then fell again.  
>"No, that would be duplicitous. I promised I would get her home and I will keep my word no matter the cost." He didn't add <em>to me<em> but the words were left hanging in the air.  
>Duncan nodded. This was one of the reason he admired Randor. He had an unshakable sense of duty and responsibility, not to mention that he was honest as the day was long. He would be one of the greatest kings Eternia has ever known. Now if he could only find his equal to share that with.<br>"Your majesty," he said getting his king and friend's attention. "I need to look at the ship first before I can say anything either way. Why don't you go get some rest? Tomorrow is a long day and difficult dealing with Stratos."  
>"Yes, I suppose so." Randor agreed. "I had the ship brought to the hanger. You can have the men move it to your workshop tomorrow."<br>"I will sire." Duncan said, "Now go! Get some sleep."  
>"Alright, you're worse than a mother hen." Randor joked.<br>"Well someone needs to look after you." Duncan returned.  
>"You've been a good friend Duncan, thank you." Randor said before leaving the room.<br>"And so have you." Duncan said quietly.

Randor trudged to his room. He was thinking about what Duncan said. Maybe there was a possibility that the ship can't be repaired. Maybe she would have to stay. He quickly shook those thoughts. There was no point in getting his hopes up.

"Your majesty." A voice came from behind him. Randor almost groaned. It was Lady Tala. He fixed a smile on his face before turning around.

"Lady Tala, you're up late." Randor said in a friendly tone.

"No later than you are." She countered. "Quite a day."

"Indeed." Randor answered before he began walking away. But she was not having it.

She trotted right along side him, "I see that you did not dine with us tonight."

"I was busy." He wished she would leave.

"With what pray tell? You know that your cabinet is here for you so that you do not have to _work_ through your supper." Lady Tala said airily.

"If you must know I was entertaining our new arrival." Randor decided if she wanted to know he would let her know.

"Oh, how kind and generous of you to worry about that poor lost soul." Lady Tala returned without batting an eye. "But you should have brought her along for dinner. I'm sure we all would have liked to meet this interesting alien."

Randor remained silent. He wasn't sure what her game was.

When she received no answer, Lady Tala continued. "I think you should have a ball in her honor."

Randor paused. He looked at Tala. "What ever for?"

"To welcome her, of course. You men! Honestly, don't you think she is perhaps a little frightened here all alone, poor soul. That's why you need a woman's touch. A party would be good to cheer her up." She casually put her hand on the lapel of his robe.

Randor instinctively stepped back. He wasn't sure what to make of Tala's suggestion. On the one hand, he would dearly love to have a chance to be with Marlena in a more ... festive setting. Then again Tala would not be suggesting something like this without an ulterior motive.

"I'll think about it." It was the safest answer he could give.

"Oh, don't you think your little alien likes parties?" she purred.

"There are more pressing issues right now than parties, Lady Tala." Randor replied. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to be rested for tomorrow." Randor started walking again.

"Oh yes, those annoying bird men." Tala sniffed. "Imagine asking for more territory. I would send the lot packing."

"Well, it's a lucky thing I'm not you." Randor muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Lady Tala asked.

"I said tomorrow's day is new." Randor called out before he rounded the corner to his room.

Tala watched him disappear. Her eyes narrowed before she turned and walked back to her quarters.

0o0

Marlena yawned as she entered her room. She was ready to sleep. But as she walked toward her bedroom her ears picked up some sound. Marlena stopped in her tracks. She looked around to see if there was anything to defend herself with. Grabbing a poker from the fireplace, she grabbed the door knob and swung the door open. She wielded the fire iron like a baseball bat. When the door swung open, a small servant girl gasped and fell on her backside. She held her hands up to protect her.

"Please, don't hurt me." She whimpered.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Marlena exclaimed as she lowered her weapon. "What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing." The girl shook with fear.

Marlena saw what the girl was doing. "Are you going through my things?" She quickly ran to gather her belongings from her duffle bag that were scattered on the floor.

"I..I..I was laying them out." The girl edged away from Marlena.

"Did King Randor send you?" Marlena asked as calmly as she could.

"No, please don't tell him." That set off alarms in Marlena's head.

"Listen, " Marlena dropped her duffle on the bed. "Tell me what you were really doing and I won't tell the king."

The girl hesitated, fear brimming in her eyes.

"Well, if you won't tell me maybe you can tell the palace guards." Marlena made like she was about to step outside.

"No! Please don't." The poor girl was almost in tears. "I…I..I'm just… I'm just curious."

"Really?" Marlena looked at the trembling girl on the floor. "Are you sure that's it?"

The girl nodded vigorously.

"Well, you could have just asked." Marlena said exasperated. "Here, get up." Marlena held out her hand. The servant recoiled as if her hand was poison. Marlena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her up as gently as she could. The girl felt like skin and bones.

"When did you last eat?" Marlena asked her.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast." The girl answered.

Marlena dug through her bag. "Here, try this." Marlena tossed a chocolate bar to her.

The girl caught it and looked at it as if it might explode.

Marlena sighed. "It's okay. It's food from my planet."

The girl still hesitated. Marlena sighed again and took the candy from her hand. She peeled off the wrapper and broke it in half. She placed one half into the girl's hand and she bit the other half.

"I bet you don't have any of this here." Marlena said savoring the melty goodness. She sat on the bed and watched to see what the girl would do.

The girl looked at the bar that was starting to melt in her hand. She sniffed it before tentatively nibbling a small piece. Her eyes lit up and she devoured the half in one bite. She licked off the residue from her fingers. She looked at Marlena who held out another bar. This time without any hesitation she attacked the bar with a voracious appetite.

"It tastes like umbernut." She smacked her lips.

"Well, I'm glad there's something like that here." Marlena nodded her approval. She patted on the bed next to her. "Come on, have a seat. I don't bite."

The girl hesitated again but seeing as she didn't have much of a choice sat down gingerly next to the alien. She watched apprehensively as Marlena pulled her duffle bag over.

"First off, we have not been properly introduced. My name is Marlena Glenn." She looked expectantly at the girl.

"Fawna." The girl supplied.

"Nice to meet you Fawna. Here, these are just clothes. This is my toiletry kit. " Marlena pulled out some sweats, jeans, a few t-shirts, sneakers, and a small bag containing a toothbrush and toothpaste. "These are some ration bars and of course I snuck in a few chocolate bars. But this… this is the most important thing in my whole bag. " Marlena said.

Fawna perked up. Marlena paused for emphasis. Then she produced a dog-eared leather bound book of some sort. Marlena carefully opened it up. It was a photo album.

Fawna stared at the pictures.

"It looks like paintings but… they look so real." She said in hushed tones.

Marlena laughed. "Don't you have photography here?"

"Fo-ta-gra-fy?" Fawna tried to say the new strange word. "No, we have artists that paint portraits. Nothing like this." She stared at the pictures.

"This is my grandparents on my mother's side on their wedding day. Here they are forty years later." Marlena turned the page. "This is my grandparents on my father's side. And here they are fifty years later. Here are my parents. Those are my brothers and baby sister." Marlena flipped through the rest of the album introducing Fawna to each of her relative and friends. Fawna sat in rapt attention as Marlena told her stories about each person.

"Goodness, it's getting late. You better be going and I better head to bed." Marlena said when they reached the last page.

Fawna got off the bed but stood there.

"Yes?" Marlena asked sensing the girl had a question.

The girl swallowed hard and then in a small voice asked, "Why did you share that with me?"

Marlena smiled. "You said you were curious. I hoped I satisfied it. Next time you want to know something, just ask."

Fawna gave a shy smile back. She curtsied and started to walk out of the room.

"So I hope this means we're friends." Marlena called after her.

The girl looked startled. "You… you want to be my friend?"

"Sure, why not?" Marlena shrugged.

"No one's ever wanted to be my friend." She mused.

"Well, I do. So I hope to see you around tomorrow, Fawna." Marlena said firmly.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She curtsied again before she fled the room.

"My, everyone here is so emotional. " Marlena pushed all her belongings back into her duffle. She carefully laid the album on top. Going to the bathroom with her toiletry kit, she cleaned herself up. Then barely awake she crawled into bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

0o0

Fawna scurried down the dimly lit hall. Looking around nervously she made her way to the more elaborately decorated wing of the castle. Making sure no one was watching, she knocked on the ostentatious door. The door immediately opened and a hand pulled the girl in.

Fawna blinked to adjust her eyes to the incredibly bright room.

"Well?" The voice snapped.

"Sh..she's just an ordinary person." Fawna stammered.

"What did you find?"

"N..nothing. She just had clothes and food in her bag." Fawna answered.

"No, there has to be something else!"

"I swear. There was nothing else, just an album."

"A what?"

"I..it's just a book with pictures of her family and friends." Fawna whimpered.

"There's got to be more. I can't believe that she would just appear out of no where…"

"Please Lady Tala, my father…"

"Don't use my name!"

Fawna winced, "I beg your forgiveness. Please my father, you promised you would release him from debtor's prison if I…"

"The deal was you find me something incriminating about the alien first." Lady Tala sneered at the servant girl. "Until you bring me something I can use against this interloper, your father can rot in prison."

A second later Fawna found herself in the dim empty hallway. Tears fell from her cheeks.

"Forgive me, Marlena." She whispered quietly.

**So I couldn't let Marlena be stranded on a planet with no chocolate! Chocolate and coffee, two things that no civilized person should live without.**


	5. Chapter 5

**HazzaTL3: Yeah, sorry for the psyke out. I just thought the title was cute. I actually have only watched a few episodes of HIMYM. I hope this continues to meet your high standards. **

**TeelanaFalcao: Ele sempre piorar antes de melhorar.**

**Guest: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.**

**AdTeeFan: Well, to be fair. Fawna's father did get himself into debtor prison. Tala's just exploiting it. **

**Hooked: I actually don't like either, but I know people who can't live without it. And since I most likely am an aberration anyway, I hate to strand anyone somewhere without these staples.**

**Wait… wait… let me check… nope still don't own anything… darn it.**

It took Marlena a while to realize where she was when she woke up the next morning. Once she remembered where she was, she shot up. Looking around she noticed there was something similar to a clock in her room, but not knowing how time works she wasn't sure if it was morning or still night. The room was pitch dark thanks to some blackout curtains. Marlena got up and pattered over to the window and dramatically flung the curtains back. She stood looking at huge windows with sunlight streaming through them.

"I guess it must be morning then." Marlena quickly got ready for the day. As she stepped out her door she saw Stratos and his companions leaving their rooms.

"Good morning." Marlena said when she saw them.

"Is that another Earth greeting?" He asked with a small smile.

"Oh darn it, yes. I keep forgetting I'm not on Earth." She apologized.

"That is the best compliment you can give me… considering I probably don't look like an Earthling." Stratos chuckled. "Would you join me for breakfast?"

"Oh, I was going to look for…" Marlena started to decline.

"Don't worry; Randor will be there as well. And I dare say so will many of the nobles of the court. They want to gawk at the insolent bird men." Stratos said with a hint of bitterness.

"Well, I guess we can both give them something to gawk about." Marlena replied. "Lead the way."

Stratos and his guards strode down the hall with Marlena trailing not far behind. When they arrived at the main dining hall, she suddenly didn't feel so confident. She watched as Stratos and his guards walk in. Marlena couldn't make her feet move.

"What am I doing? I can't do this. I'm not properly dressed. I don't know what to say and once again I'm talking to myself." Marlena looked down at the jumpsuit that she had on again. She was sure she looked like a space hobo. She quickly turned to go back to her room. Unfortunately, she rammed into someone's chest.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She gasped then turned bright red. It was Randor.

"We have to stop meeting like this." Randor said with a small smile.

"Well, I.. uh.. forgot something in my room. I'll, uh, I'll…" Marlena tried to get away but Randor firmly held on to her arms.

"I'm sorry for yesterday." He apologized.

Marlena froze in her tracks. "What?" Marlena looked at him in surprised.

"I couldn't sleep all night. I felt terrible for being so rude to you." The sorrowful look on his face moved Marlena.

"It's okay. I was going to apologize for flying off the handle…" Marlena began.

"What did you do?" Randor looked at her startled.

"Ack, I keep forgetting where I am." Marlena sighed. "I mean I'm sorry I overreacted. You have been more than kind to me and I shouldn't expect…"

"You shouldn't expect me to be courteous? No, my behavior is inexcusable. Please forgive me."

Marlena's head was spinning. Was a king asking for her forgiveness? "No, it's I who should be asking for…"

Randor cut her off, "How about we equally share the blame and equally receive forgiveness?" He had a twinkle in his eye.

Marlena laughed and Randor felt his spirit lighten.

"Agreed. We're both at fault and both forgiven." She replied with amusement in her voice.

"Good, shall we go have the morning meal now?" Randor gestured that she should go first.

"On Earth we call it breakfast and yes, I'm starving." Marlena agreed as she walked in. Then she regretted it. The room was huge. The table was long. There must be at least two dozen people seated and when she walked in, she felt every eye on her. The silence was deafening. Stratos pushed back his chair and came over to Marlena.

"I was wondering where you went. Come sit with us." Stratos lightly held Marlena's hand and led her to where the bird men were sitting. Marlena could hear the whispers begin immediately. She caught snatches of it as she walked down to her seat.

_She's the alien. The bird men are friends with her. She can't be trusted. What does the king see in her? I wouldn't call her pretty, more like dowdy._

Marlena glanced at her wrinkled uniform. Yes, she did look a little dowdy but she was representing her planet and by golly she was not going to let it down. She straightened her back and held her head high as she walked to her seat.

Meanwhile Randor felt a pang of jealousy at the familiarity that Stratos addressed Marlena. He wondered how they knew each other. But he hid his curiosity and jealousy quickly with a gesture to the servants to begin serving the food. Randor took his place at the head of the table.

"My friends let us remember what the ancients have provided us with and enjoy it with gratitude." He sat down eyeing Marlena and Stratos from the corner of his eye. They sat to the left of him. At the right was Duncan. Unfortunately to Duncan's left sat Lady Tala and her father Lord Baem.

When Randor's tray arrived, the servants lifted the lid. Randor picked up his utensil and began eating. The nobles did likewise. Marlena figured that this was her cue. She picked the lid off her tray and looked at it. It was arranged nicely but she had no idea what she was looking at.

"Those are ganderberries and fire melons." Stratos told her as if reading her mind. "They are very sweet. Both grow at the base of the Mystic Mountain."

"Is that why you want that territory, Lord Stratos?" Lord Baem said with an air of mock innocence.

Stratos openly bristled. Randor glared at Lord Baem. Although Marlena didn't understand the comment she did feel the temperature in the room drop a few degrees.

"The land in question, sir," Stratos said with gritted teeth, "is optimal to set up surveillance for our protection from _your_ people."

"Oh, I wasn't aware, my lord, that there was any open attack by _my _people on _your_ people." Lord Baem said smugly. "Why don't we just call an Eternian tiger for what it really is?"

Randor was about to interject when Marlena beat him to it.

"My lords, "she copied their formal tones. "I believe that there is perhaps a misunderstanding among us. I have only met both of your people briefly. But what I have found are gracious individuals who would never be purposefully vindictive. Perhaps there is a better way to solve our differences of opinion besides throwing accusations without concrete proof."

"Well said, Marlena." Randor approved. "I believe this discussion would well be served after the morning meal. Then we may separate fact from fiction and deal with the facts accordingly."

"I concur, your majesty. It is very wise of you to suggest a halt to these discussions at the table." Lady Tala smiled at Randor.

Randor merely nodded back to acknowledge that she had spoken.

Lady Tala turned to Marlena, "Did you sleep well? You must be so frightened here on this foreign planet."

Marlena felt a cold chill go through the spine. It was as if, as her grandmother put it, someone walked over her grave. She put on a smile and replied courteously, "I slept well, thank you. Everyone has been so kind that I haven't had time to be frightened."

"Of course, and King Randor has especially been so accommodating… perhaps to a fault. Not everyone sees strangers from the sky as friends." Lady Tala continued.

Randor tensed. He could see that Lady Tala was trying to imply to Marlena that she was causing problems for him.

"Actually, the council of elders and The Sorceress herself have declared her to be of no threat." Duncan piped up. "I believe his majesty was going to make the formal announcement later in court."

Randor relaxed. Leave it to Duncan to have his back. "Yes," Randor nodded in agreement, "The council of elders spoke to her last night. They were apparently informed by someone, they said. I wonder who?" Randor gave a pointed look at Baem.

Baem calmly returned his stare. "I suppose any number of people who are concerned for Eternia's welfare would approach the council."

Randor was seething inside but he saw that Marlena was becoming distressed as the veiled argument continued. He knew Marlena was no idiot and realized that the conversation had now uncomfortably turned to her. Once again Duncan came to the rescue.

"So Marlena, I took a look at your ship early this morning. I must say it is a fascinating piece of equipment. Perhaps later this afternoon you can help me with a few questions I have about its inner workings?"

"I'm no mechanic. But I do know a little about the ship. I'll help you in anyway I can." Marlena answered him grateful to be moving on to a different topic.

"May I come too?" Stratos asked. "I'm curious to see the ship that has brought you to us."

"I don't see why not." Duncan agreed.

Randor was ready to lunge at the bird man. It felt like an animal was gnawing at his stomach. He didn't want Stratos spending time with his… he meant the visitor.

Instead he tactfully said, "I think we will be busy all day with negotiations, Lord Stratos."

"Please call me Stratos. I am not one for formal titles. And I don't think these talks will take as long as you think." Stratos waved his hand carelessly.

Randor raised an eyebrow as he and Duncan shared a look. It was either a good sign or a very bad one.

Randor turned his attention back to Stratos and Marlena who were both now engaged in animated conversation about flight.

His face darkened slightly. Tala did not miss this.

"So Stratos, I take it you find Marlena interesting?" Tala purred.

Randor's head snapped up a fraction as he listened for his response.

"Marlena is indeed a remarkable individual," was all Stratos said.

Randor pretended to be interested in his fruit salad. He was so busy trying to listen in on Marlena and Stratos' conversation that he did not notice Tala smile slyly.

0o0

After the meal was done, Lady Tala offered to show Marlena the rest of the palace while the king conducted his business. Randor looked on apprehensively as the two women walked out of the dining hall.

Stratos and his bird men were led into the conference room. Randor and his advisors followed after. Everyone found their seats. Man-at-arms stood behind his royal highness's chair.

"The City of Eternos welcomes you delegate from Avion. We invite you to present your request and entreat you to hear ours." Man-at-Arms began.

One of Stratos' guardsman stood up and said in a clear strong voice, "The leader of the bird men, Stratos has no request other than that the King Randor acknowledges that the bird men's fear of having their treasures stolen by outsiders is real and ask that he propose an acceptable resolution."

Immediately, whispering among the advisors began. This was a surprising development. It was a complete 180 from what the demand was from the previous night.

Randor raised his hand to silence the talking of his advisors. "Stratos, Lord of Avion, I accept your gracious request and formally acknowledge your plight. As for the proposal, I believe that would best be worked on by both parties to come to a mutual and beneficial decision."

Stratos nodded his agreement. "I thought as much you would say that." He smirked.

Randor imperceptibly frowned, "May I ask, if I may be so bold, why the change of heart?"

"You will have to thank your alien. I was enlightened by our conversation." Stratos said.

Randor raised an eyebrow. So that's how they knew each other. But when could they have met? It would had to have been last night. Suddenly, all sorts of dark thoughts came unbidden to his mind.

The whispering began again among the advisors. The opinion of the alien was turning favorable.

"Let us continue with our negotiations." Randor said calmly not betraying the turmoil inside.

"By all means." Stratos leaned back casually against his chair. Everyone in the room also relaxed. It looked like the meeting with the bird men will be congenial.

0o0

"Wow, I didn't realize there was a whole other wing here." Marlena commented to Tala.

"Yes, Randor's father had this added after more of the nobles were invited to stay here. He was very generous." Tala said loftily.

Marlena noted the familiarity of the use of Randor's name and the past tense referring to his father. "King Randor takes after his father then."

"Yes, Randor is rather like his father, generous to a fault." Tala noted.

"I'm sure he's a great king." Marlena didn't know why she felt defensive.

"Oh, he's quite popular especially among the ladies." Tala twisted the conversation.

"I would assume so." Marlena said slowly.

"He, of course, is looking for a wife." She lowered her voice and leaned in.

"I suppose a king should look for a wife." Marlena started to feel uncomfortable.

"We believe he already has his eye on some candidates." She added conspiratorially.

"That's nice." Marlena tried to walk away to indicate that she was not interested in the topic.

"We believe he's very close to choosing one soon." Tala followed her. "Of course, the person he chooses must be from Eternian royalty as tradition dictates. Royalty must court royalty."

Marlena didn't know why the conversation would bother her. She was sure that Tala was just being friendly but she wished she would keep the gossip to herself.

"Anyway, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Oh, what's down here?" Marlena quickly made a sharp turn away, forcing Tala to stop so she could continue their walk together.

"This is the second royal gardens. Randor had it built after some nobles complained that the main one was too far away for their children to play in. I think sometimes royals can be such babies." Tala sniffed.

"But it was nice that he cared enough to address their concerns." Marlena replied again feeling defensive.

"Hmph, if it was me, I'd tell them to deal with it." Tala said.

Marlena didn't answer. It seemed that Tala had a lot of ideas of how things should be run.

"Marlena," a voice called out from behind them.

Marlena turned around and smiled. Randor, Man-at Arms, and Stratos were approaching.

She walked over to greet them. Tala scowled at the omission but nonetheless pasted a smile on her face before going to join her "friend".

"My, that was fast. I though you said it would take all afternoon." Marlena addressed Randor.

Randor smiled as he looked into her eyes. "Actually, it was thanks to you that we finished so quickly."

"Me?" Marlena asked with surprise.

"Yes, I believe our little talk last night helped dispel some of my mistaken assumptions." Stratos spoke up. Marlena turned to face him now.

"Really? I didn't know there was any." Marlena wrinkled her brow worriedly. "I hope I haven't caused any problems."

"On the contrary, you saved us some headaches." Duncan piped up. "Now shall we go take a look at your ship?"

"Really? That would be great." Marlena said excitedly.

"Oh, are we going to see the space ship?" Tala butted into the conversation. "This will be most educational."

The small party walked over to Duncan's workshop.

Duncan keyed in his code and the metal doors slid opened. He stepped inside and beckoned for them to come in.

"That's so interesting." Marlena muttered looking at all the complex machinery.

"What was that?" Randor asked as he allowed the ladies to go in first.

"Well, here it's so technological advanced and then there are places that are so… I don't know how to say it… old fashioned." Marlena stumbled to explain herself. When it was clear that they didn't understand her, she tried again. "Well, here is some of the most complex machinery I've ever seen while in my room there are door handles."

"Yes, we do have a mix of both. We value our traditions." Randor tried to explain. "But we are not adverse to using knowledge to make our lives more pleasant."

"Yes, tradition is an integral part of our lives." Lady Tala echoed looking at Marlena.

Duncan and Stratos were already examining the spaceship.

"Well, there's your problem." Stratos joked as he pointed at the wing that had separated from the ship.

Marlena laughed. "If that's all that's wrong, I'd be grateful."

Lady Tala disdainfully stepped around the workshop trying to avoid the cast offs and debris that lay all around from Duncan's different projects.

"Man-at-arms, you really should keep your workspace more orderly." She said coldly.

"I'm sorry Lady Tala. Perhaps you would be more comfortable in _your_ own quarters." Duncan said pointedly.

Tala bristled at the subtle suggestion.

She was about the reply but though better as everyone's attention was turned to the ship.

"The engine looks similar to the wind raider." Duncan commented.

"The what?" Marlena asked.

"Oh, sorry. I forget that it's not done yet." Duncan walked over to a lump covered by a drop cloth. He yanked off the sheet. "Here, take a look."

Marlena marveled at the sight of the flying machine. "Can I see it up close?"

"Of course." Duncan said as he watched Marlena climb in. "This is the prototype. I just need to find someone for its first test flight. If it does well, we'll start producing fleets of them."

"Oh, may I?" Marlena asked.

"You?" Duncan asked surprised.

"That's my job back on Earth. I test anything that flies." Marlena had a far away look in her eyes.

"Well, if you don't mind…" Duncan said hesitantly looking at Randor.

"I'd love to see what you can do." Stratos interjected.

Randor didn't like the idea of putting Marlena in any danger but he also didn't like the fact that Stratos was being the supportive one.

"If Duncan is sure this is safe…" He looked at his friend who nodded, "then it's all yours."

Marlena clapped her hands together in excitement. "When can I take it out?"

"How about tomorrow morning?" Duncan asked. "I can double check the controls and show you how it works tonight.

"I can't wait." Marlena smiled.

"In the meantime let's work on your ship." Duncan smiled as he walked over to the other ship.

"Of course." Marlena followed him.

Tala watched from a distance as Marlena bent over the engine of the ship along with Duncan and Stratos. Randor stood with his arms folded while glaring at the bird man.

An idea began fomenting in her mind. By the time the little group was done tinkering with the spaceship she had formed a devilish idea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Guest 1: You know in the episode Rainbow Explorer, which is where this whole idea is based off of, Randor says, "let me introduce you to the greatest pilot a planet called Earth ever produced…" How would he know that unless he's actually seen her fly, right? Watching her ship crash land doesn't count. And I wouldn't worry about Randor; I think he knows what his courtiers are capable of.**

**Guest 2: I'll try to update on a regular basis. Expect some excitement in this chapter. **

**Timothyblack0412: Hey, a new reviewer! Thanks!**

**Hooked: I'm glad you like this so far. Trying my best.**

**TeelanaFalcao: Tal pai, tal filha como diz o ditado Inglês vai. Obrigado por seus comentários. **

**AdTeeFan: Thank you for your review. I'm glad you like this.**

**Sure, I own the He-Man franchise. And if you believe that I have a bridge I want to sell you.**

Marlena and Duncan ran through the controls on the wind raider. They were simple really. The military planes she tested had a more complex instrument panel. Marlena was sure she could run the wind raider through its paces without a hitch. Duncan was impressed how quickly she grasped the instructions yet was humble enough to ask for clarification and allowed him to teach her. As they were finally leaving, they bumped into a familiar face.

"Fawna, I haven't seen you all day." Marlena said warmly.

The poor girl nearly jumped out of her skin.

"I was just… I'm here to…." She stumbled.

"Relax," Marlena laughed, "Remember? I don't bite. But I don't know about Man-at-Arms here."

Duncan smiled good-naturedly. "No, I don't bite either. Hello there, Fawna. How's your family?"

"Fine," She said with her eyes cast down.

"Well, we best be heading to the dinner now. They're probably waiting for us." Duncan nodded to Fawna. "Say hello to your family for me."

"Yes sir." The girl answered automatically.

"See you later, Fawna." Marlena said. To her surprise the girl cringed as if she was struck. Marlena thought it odd but then promptly forgot as Duncan started talking to her about her own ship.

"So the Rainbow Explorer is quite a ship." Duncan said.

"Yes, it's the latest technological advance in our space program." Then she added ruefully, "And I crashed it onto an alien planet."

"I think it can be fixed." Duncan reassured her.

"How about getting out of your planet's gravitational pull?" Marlena asked.

"Well, we can try to add extra boosters or there is such thing as magic here." Duncan's eyes twinkled.

"Oh yes, your Sorceress." Marlena chuckled. "That gave me quite a shock."

"I'm sure it did. I heard there's no magic where you're from."

"That's correct." Marlena agreed.

"I can't imagine a world without it. Then again the lack of magic is probably the reason why you've made so many advances… to compensate." Duncan mused.

"True." Marlena acquiesced.

"I'd love to study some of your equipment before you go. There's so much I could learn from them." Duncan said wistfully.

"As long as you promise to use it for good." Marlena said jokingly.

Duncan looked startled. "Of course, I would never dream of…"

"Hey, hey, it's all right. I was joking. I know you would use it to benefit the people." Marlena quickly corrected herself. When was she going to learn to hold her tongue?

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little sensitive about my work. You see many people don't really approve of what I do."

"Really why?"

"Well, they think magic is enough. But I feel like there's a whole different realm that has yet to be explored. So much potential we can tap into." Duncan said enthusiastically.

"You're right. There're so many amazing things out there to be done and that you can do." Marlena turned to Duncan. "Don't ever stop trying to discover new things. Don't ever give up looking for an answer. And most importantly don't ever be afraid to fail."

Man-at-arms was at a lost for words. Those were almost the exact same words his mentor Rohad said to him years ago. "Th…thank you." He managed to blurt out.

"For what? Telling you the truth?" Marlena smiled. "I should be thanking you for fixing my ship. Oh we're going to be late." Marlena sped up.

Duncan found his limbs suddenly heavy. He now knew why Randor was smitten with her. She was in every way perfect… and she was leaving… and he was helping her leave. He shook his head. There's nothing he could do. Randor had ordered him to fix her ship. After studying it, he knew he could easily do so. There must be something that could be done. He didn't care what the Sorceress said. Marlena needed to stay.

0o0

When Duncan and Marlena entered the dining hall, all eyes turned to them. Marlena felt her face grow hot. This time Randor beat Stratos to her side. He escorted her amid some dark looks to the chair next to him. Once again he pronounced a blessing and they all began to eat.

"How are the repairs going?" Lord Baem asked Man-at-Arms.

"It's coming along." Duncan said tersely.

"I'm sure you can't wait to go home." Lady Tala said to Marlena.

"Yes, I miss my family very much but I think I'll miss this planet too." She said wistfully.

Randor's heart skipped a beat when he heard her say that. Could it possibly be that… no, he refused to get his hopes up… but maybe just maybe. He remained silent hoping to hear more from her. Unfortunately, Baem spoke again.

"Well, I'm sure this planet can not replace your own home." He sniffed.

"I suppose not." Marlena answered sadly.

Randor wanted to tell Baem to shut up. Instead, he glowered at his dinner.

"I'm sure Stratos would miss you too, Marlena." Lady Tala said smugly.

"Indeed I will. Are all Earthlings as fascinating as you?" Stratos asked cordially.

"You're too kind. I'm dull really. I just like to do exciting things." Marlena scooped a mouthful of what looked and tasted like mash potatoes into her mouth.

"Like what?" Randor asked looking up from his meal.

"Oh, I've been sky diving, bungee jumping, parasailing, skiing…" She paused when everyone looked confused. "I'm sorry. I guess I have to be a little more descriptive."

Marlena spent the rest of dinner explaining the various activities she had participated in. By the end of dinner the whole table, even those sitting at the end, were hanging on her every word.

"You've jumped out of a flying object, free fell to the ground, and then opened a piece of cloth to stop your descent?" Randor asked incredulously. "Willingly?"

"Well it was part of my training to be a pilot. But I thought it was fun." Marlena shrugged.

"Fascinating. I would like to see one of these… what did you call it? Pair of shoes?" Duncan said.

"Par-a-chute." Marlena enunciated it for him. "I'd love to show you one. It might be helpful to have one for safety reasons."

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Duncan nodded vigorously.

In the meantime, Lady Tala was livid that this alien was monopolizing everyone's attention. However, she knew better than to interrupt Marlena while the king was enthralled by her stories. He would not look kindly at any disruption. Plus she could use this development to her advantage. So she consoled herself with the thought that after tomorrow no one would want to have anything to do with her anymore. She hid a wicked smile behind her cup.

0o0

The next morning, Marlena woke up early. She was starting to get use to the way time worked around here. Last night, Randor had taken her out to the gardens to show her the twin moons. She was shocked. They were beautiful. This planet was beautiful. Its people were wonderful. She found herself missing home less and less. On the other hand, when she saw the cover of her photo album she can't help but feel a pang of regret. Her family must be out of their minds with worry. Marlena sighed. She tried to push all the conflicting emotions aside. Today was a big day. She had to pull herself together. After all she was testing a piece of alien technology. With that thought, she pushed herself out of bed to get ready for the day.

Randor couldn't sleep much again. He kept thinking about Marlena. She had lived an exciting life and he was sure she couldn't wait to get back to it. He wanted to show her that this planet can also be exciting as well. Last night he managed to wrangle her away from everyone. Duncan, may the Ancients bless him, distracted Stratos and Lady Tala long enough for him to grab her and go. Once he was alone with her he showed her the twin moons of Eternia. It just so happened that they were both full that night. Just as he had hoped, she was mesmerized by their beauty. He pretended to look at the moons but in reality he was studying her, trying to memorize every inch of her face. Duncan had told him that the ship would take a while to repair but it was repairable. She would be leaving. His head knew it was impossible but his heart was hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could convince her to stay.

Sadly, this was not a productive line of thought and he knew it. So Randor shoved all his feelings as deep down as it could go and got up to start the day. He hoped that everything would go well today with the flight.

When Duncan arrived at his workshop, Marlena was already there.

"You're up early." He greeted her.

"I was too excited to stay sleep." She admitted. "And a little nervous."

"No need to be. Like we ran through yesterday, you'll take it up, see how it does with sharp turns and sudden changes in altitudes and take it down." Duncan reminded her.

"Yes, I know. I've been running the controls and patterns through my mind." She said.

"Well, then you should be more than prepared. Shall we?"

"Of course."

0o0

When Duncan and Marlena got to the test field, a huge crowd was there already.

"Um, Duncan? Why are there so many people here?" Marlena asked uneasily.

"I haven't the slightest clue." Duncan was baffled. Every noble and their family were seated on the grass as if they were picnicking.

Randor walked over. He did not look happy.

"Duncan did you invite all these people?" He asked.

"Of course not. We were just wondering the same thing ourselves." Duncan frowned.

"No one knew about this except us, Stratos, and…" Randor stopped. It suddenly became clear what had happened. "Lady Tala." He muttered darkly. He spun around and went to look for her.

"Wait, your majesty. Should we start the test?" Duncan asked.

"No, wait for me." Randor turned his head but kept walking. He broke into a trot.

It wasn't long before he found Lady Tala and her father sitting comfortably on chairs that their servants had brought along.

"Lady Tala, did you perhaps tell people about this test?" Randor narrowed his eyes.

"Why? Was it supposed to be a secret?" Tala asked innocently.

"You knew very well that…" Randor said in a controlled voice.

"Dear Randor, " Lady Tala purred. "I knew nothing other than the alien was about to test our flying machine. Don't you think that our people deserve to see what our little pilot can do? After all the stories she told last night, people want to see her in action."

Randor was stuck. He couldn't very well send everyone home. It would make Marlena look bad. He whirled around but said through gritted teeth. "This is not over." He stalked off.

"Oh, I think it will be." Tala smiled slyly.

0o0

"Duncan, check the wind raider. Has it been tampered with?" Randor came back in a huff.

"I've checked it twice. Everything is as it should be." Duncan replied. "Why what's the matter?"

"I think Lady Tala did something to the wind raider so that Marlena would look foolish in front of everyone." He said in a low tone.

"Why would she… oh." Understanding flooded his eyes. He glanced nervously over at Marlena. "Should we cancel the test?"

"No, Tala thought this through. If the flight is canceled the rumors will start." Randor gritted his teeth.

"What should we do?" Duncan asked.

"We have no choice but let her go through with this test. Maybe I'm wrong. Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

"Yes, I'll even check it a third time."

"You do that." He walked over to Marlena.

"Your majesty? Why are there so many people here? Is it customary for people to come to see test flights?" Marlena wanted to know.

"No, not usually. Marlena, are you sure you want to go through with this. You don't have to and you are under no obligation to…"

"Is something wrong?" Marlena asked.

"I… we don't know." Randor shook his head.

"Is this some political thing that I don't quite understand?" Marlena frowned.

"I'm not sure." Randor admitted.

"Don't worry about me. I've done this hundreds of times." Marlena reassured him.

"Please be careful. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you." He had gripped her arms.

"I..I…" Marlena suddenly forgot how to speak.

"You know what? I don't care. You can't do this. I'm calling this off." Randor whirled around.

"No Randor, wait." Marlena grabbed his arm.

Randor glanced at her hand on his arm. She blushed "I mean King Randor."

"No, please if you consider me a friend, call me Randor."

"I… Randor, I can do it. I know I can handle whatever may come." Marlena said firmly.

Randor swallowed hard. He was torn. If she didn't go through with the test, Lady Tala could say that all those stories she told last night were lies. But if the test goes badly, Marlena would also look foolish.

Marlena touched his cheek. Startled Randor looked at her.

"Trust me." She said softly.

Randor could only nod. Marlena smiled and put her hand down. She walked to the wind raider. Randor touched his cheek where her hand had been. He could feel his face flush.

"Duncan, does everything check out?" Marlena asked in a business-like tone.

"Everything checks out." Duncan said.

"Good. Time to see what this baby can do." Marlena put on her helmet and got into the wind raider. Marlena started the engine. She flipped several of the switches. As the wind raider roared to life, it lifted from the ground.

Meanwhile, Randor searched for Stratos. Finally, he found him in the crowd.

"Stratos, I need to talk to you." He said urgently.

Startos raised his eyebrow

0o0

At first, the test seemed to be going well. She didn't have any problems during take-off and the turns were all smooth. Now she was about to perform the altitude test. The wind raider started climbing. She kept an eye on her instruments to make sure she was on course. Then without warning the instrument board went crazy. Lights flashed, the switches started flipping on and off by themselves. The steering column seemed to suddenly have a mind of its own. Marlena started fighting with it as it started to steer her off course. She was veering away from the field. As she struggled to control it she didn't notice that the mountain ranges were getting closer. When she finally looked up, she gasped. She was heading straight for the side of a mountain.


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy Valentine's everyone!**

**Guest: Sorry, I do write a lot of cliffhangers but I try to resolve them quickly. **

**hooked: Glad you like the humor. Actually, I lost my sense of humor about 6 years ago. If anyone finds it, please return.**

**AdTeeFan: Patience, all will be answered in due time.**

**TeelanaFalcao: ****Obrigado por perceber sobre Fawna. Ela desempenha um papel importante na história. Espero que você continue a se divertir.**

**Timothyblack0412: Glad to see you back. I hope it continues to meet your expectations.**

**But most of all thank you all for reading this. I kinda posted this on a whim. Wasn't really expecting anyone to read it much less enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Does any one read this? What, oh, the lawyers? Okay, fine. I do not own any of the rights to He-Man or any related characters.**

King Randor and Stratos watched Marlena test the wind raider from the edge of the field.

"Everything looks okay, so far." Stratos observed.

"Yes, well, I'm hoping it stays that way." Randor muttered.

"So how do you know something's going to go wrong?" Stratos inquired.

"I don't, not for sure but I'm counting on you to make sure she's safe in case something does go wrong." Randor replied his eyes on the wind raider.

Stratos glanced at him then back to the sky. "Well, it won't be because of operator error. She's quite a pilot. Impressive being able to fly something foreign so quickly and so well." He said off-handedly.

"Mmm-hmm," Randor grunted noncommittally.

"You like her don't you?" Stratos said unexpectedly.

"Excuse me?" Randor looked at Stratos in surprise.

"You heard me. You like the Earthling." Stratos repeated.

"Well, I…I…I'm just concerned for her safety." Randor stammered.

"No, you're more than just… concerned." Stratos smirked.

Randor turned his face to hide his blush. "What makes you say that?" He grumbled.

"The absolute panic on your face when you approached me perhaps gave you away." Stratos remarked.

"What does it matter if I do? She's going back to her planet so the point is moot." Randor sounded petulant.

"Well, tell her!" Stratos exclaimed.

"What?" Randor's head snapped to face Stratos.

"Yes, man! Tell her how you feel. See if she feels the same." Stratos said exasperated.

"And then what? Take her away from her life, her home?" Randor's face had a pained expression.

"That would be her choice, wouldn't it?" Stratos asked.

Before Randor could reply, he heard a gasp go through the crowd. His head snapped back to the sky. The wind raider was starting to fly erratically.

"Stratos…" Panic crept into Randor's voice.

"I'm on it." Stratos shot into the sky.

Randor shielded his eyes to try to see what was going on. He heard the nobles start to talk amongst themselves.

_What is the alien doing? Did you see the bird man go after her? What's going on? Is she stealing the flying machine?_

Randor gritted his teeth. The gossip mill was already starting. He quickly moved to where Duncan stood.

"Duncan, did you see…"

"Yes, I did your majesty. Something's not right."

"Is there any way we can follow them?"

"I put a transmitter on the wind raider so it would send me data during the test. I can use it as a homing beacon."

"Excellent. Stratos is following her to make sure she's safe."

"Stratos?"

"Yes, he's the only one who could fly." He said wryly.

"I see. Well, according to this they're heading for Mount Eternia."

"Quickly then. Let's get to the Attack Trak."

"What will we tell the people?"

Randor frowned for a second. Then he got on top of Man-at-Arms' transport. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"My friends, thank you all for coming to see the first successful test run of the wind raider. I'm sure we are all impressed by its maneuverability. The public portion of the test is now concluded. Please continue to enjoy your outing while we finish the private portion of the test." Randor then jumped off the transport.

"Let's go." He grabbed his friend and tried to walk off regally. When they were out of sight from the people they ran to the tank.

0o0

The side of the mountain was fast approaching. Marlena debated jumping out of the ship. But she couldn't face another crash especially in an alien vehicle. So with all her might she yanked on the steering column. The wind raider lurched up. She flew parallel to the mountainside scraping the bottom of the wind raider. She winced every time she heard the crunching of the metal against the rocks.

Finally, she reached the top. She relaxed her grip. The wind raider flew across a flat part of the mountain. She checked to see if it was a large enough area to land. She fought the controls to try to land on the craggy surface. She pushed the steering column so that it made a U-turn. She tried to descend slowly but the ship had other ideas. While equally pushing and pulling to compensate for the ship's erratic flying , she skipped to a landing barely stopping in time before she reached the edge.

She leaned back in relief, "Whew, that was close." She wiped her forehead with her sleeve.

"Are you all right?"

Marlena nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around to see who had spoken.

"Oh Stratos, you scared me. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was going to help you, but it looks like you've taken care of that yourself." Stratos smiled.

"Thank you. I still need help getting back to the field seeing as I have no idea where i am." Marlena said dryly.

"I think I can do that." He said amicably. Then he added in a more serious tone. "What happened?" He pointed at the wind raider.

Marlena shrugged then started to get out of the ship. "I honestly don't know. One minute it was flying well, and then it just started driving like it was possessed."

"Did it now?" Stratos pulled something from a pouch on his belt. It was a small pinkish crystal. He waved it over the wind raider.

Marlena looked at him curiously. "What is that?" Then she jumped back when the crystal started to glow eerily.

"Hmm, I suspected as much. " Stratos said grimly. "Your wind raider has been tampered with."

"But Man-at-Arms said…" Marlena began.

"Not physical tampering, magical tampering. Someone has hexed your flying machine."

Marlena took a step back away from the wind raider. "But why would anyone do such a thing?"

Stratos shrugged. "Who knows? But I find non-bird people tend to do pretty petty things."

"Let's get back. I want to find some answers." Marlena said determinedly.

"As you wish." Stratos bent over and lifted her under her knees and back.

"Hey!" Marlena protested.

"Sorry, this is the fastest way I can get you back unless you want to walk." Stratos said.

"Well, okay." Marlena looked away to hide her blush. Then Stratos leapt off the ledge of the mountain. Marlena gasped and grabbed him tight.

"Relax," he said calmly. "I won't let you fall."

"Sorry, just a visceral reaction." Marlena tried to keep her voice even keeled. Inside her heart was hammering at suddenly feeling the sensation of falling through the air. As she tried to distract herself from the dizzying heights, her eyes caught movement on the mountain side. "Stratos, what's that?" She pointed at the mountain.

"Rocks," he answered cheekily.

"Yes, I know that but I thought I saw something move over there." She refrained from slapping him.

Whether to humor her or if he was genuinely curious he flew to where she was pointing. They landed on a ledge. There were a series of caves along the wide ledge.

"I don't see anything." Stratos looked around.

Marlena's instincts took over. She grabbed Stratos and pulled him behind some rocks. Stratos was about to object when they heard rustling come from one of the caves.

Marlena's head started to spin again because what emerged looked like something from her nightmares. They had the bodies of men and heads of snakes.

0o0

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Randor asked Duncan impatiently.

"Sire, we are going at maximum speed." Then Duncan added, "Maybe we should have had some of the guards accompany us."

"No, I don't want too many people to know about this." Randor said abruptly.

"I'm sure the royal guards can be trusted not to speak." Duncan glanced at Randor. His friend looked haggard.

"I don't know." Randor shook his head. "I'm sorry, Duncan. I don't know if I'm thinking straight anymore." He rubbed his eyes. "I know some of the people in the court can be… malicious, but I would never have thought that anyone would ever resort to actually hurting someone."

"We can't jump to conclusions." Duncan cautioned him.

"I suppose you're right. I can't make any judgment calls until I have all the evidence. But by the Ancients, if Marlena is hurt…" His threat trailed off into silence. He wasn't sure what he would do. He closed his eyes. Right now he only cared that she was all right. He was so concerned he was even willing to send Stratos to her aid. Then thinking back to their conversation, he was puzzled as to why the bird man would insist that he tell Marlena his feelings. Does that mean he Stratos wasn't interested in her? Or did he want a rival for her affections? He nearly groaned. All this and he still had the snakemen to contend with.

"Can't we go any faster?" He repeated.

Duncan thought that perhaps it would not be wise to smack his king over the head. So with great self-control he merely answered, "We're almost there, your majesty." He only hoped it was true.

0o0

Marlena's heart skipped a beat. She was staring at honest to goodness snakemen. Stratos pulled her back behind the rocks before they could spot her.

"We need to get out of here." He whispered. He started to walk along the ledge away from the caves

Marlena was about to follow when she heard one of them say, "We have the Serpent Ring. Now it's just a matter of time before we can rid ourselves of these accursed Eternians."

Marlena froze. She stayed stock still.

"Yes, soon we snakemen will once again rule this planet and the people will be our slaves." Another one hissed.

Marlena shuddered and quickly moved to follow Stratos. Unfortunately in her haste she did not notice the outcropping of rock on the ground. She tripped and fell. As she pushed herself up, a shadow loomed over her. When she flipped onto her back, two snakemen were glaring at her.

"A spy! We will show you what we do to spies." Hissed the one that looked a little like a rattlesnake.

"I don't suppose it's to let her go peacefully?" Marlena asked facetiously.

The orange one lunged for her, fangs baring. Marlena quickly stuck out her legs and catapulted him over her. His body hit the ground with a thud. Then quickly scooping up loose dirt on the floor she threw it in the other snakeman's face blinding him. She scrambled up and ran leaping over the prone figure of the first snakeman. As she was jumping something shiny on the ground next to the fallen snakeman caught her eye. In one smooth movement she swept it into her hand and continued running.

"Get up, get her, you fool! She has the ring!" Marlena could hear the snakeman hiss.

Running as fast as her legs can go she plunged head long on the ledge hoping to find Stratos. She stuck the ring in her pocket.

When she rounded the corner she skidded to a stop. Stratos was on the floor. Standing above him was a cobra-like man with his hood splayed. She could see some sort of gas dissipating into the air. The cobra spotted her and approached her menacingly.

0o0

"We're here, sire." Man-at-Arms said with some relief. "This is as far as the Attack Trak can go." His companion did not answer but wordlessly jumped out of the tank. He looked up the rest of Mount Eternia. They had made it half way up the mountain before the road grew too narrow for the tank to pass. Randor started following the path up.

"Wait, your majesty. Let me try to get a better reading so we don't aimlessly wander." Duncan called out.

"Fine," Randor crossed his arms and impatiently tapped his foot as he waited for Man-at-Arms to calibrate his instruments.

"It seems that the wind raider is directly above us." Duncan said still looking at his handheld computer.

"Then let's go." Randor started walking again.

Duncan shook his head and wordlessly followed. He walked next to Randor.

"I'm sure she's well." Duncan tried to reassure him.

Randor kept walking without answering. The traveled several feet in silence broken only by the sound of gravel crunching underneath their feet and their ragged breaths as the air grew thinner.

"Duncan," Randor broke the silence. "Duncan, what do you think of Marlena?"

Surprised and at a lost as to how to answer, Duncan scratched his head. "I'm not sure what you mean by that, sire."

"You know? Do you think she can handle being… royalty?" Randor paused not knowing how to phrase it.

"I think she would make a wonderful queen." Duncan said sincerely. "I think she posses a keen mind, a humble spirit, and a good disposition."

"Do you think she'd be willing to stay here?" He asked.

"I think that's up to her. But unless she knows…" A scream stopped them in their tracks. The king and Man-at-Arms looked at each other dumbfounded. Another scream broke through their trance.

"Marlena!" Randor yelled before barreling up the road at speeds that Duncan didn't know he was capable of.

0o0

Marlena was not a screamer. She generally was more reserved even in her fright. But when the cobra man charged her with venom dripping from its fangs, hood opened, and eyes ablaze, she heard an unfamiliar high pitch noise emitting from her mouth not once but twice. Although even in her fear she did not lose her head. As the snakeman reached her, she sidestepped him and held out her leg. The snakeman tripped and fell face first into some rocks. His fangs fastened onto said rocks and he was stuck momentarily. It gave Marlena an opportunity to check Stratos.

She shook him." Stratos? Stratos! Are you okay? Please get up." She tried to keep the panic from her voice but she could tell it was creeping in. Then she heard rocks crunching. She whirled around and saw the snakeman was free. He did not look happy. Marlena got up and backed away from the murderous creature. As he advanced she continued to back away. Then stopped when she realized she had run out of ledge. She glanced over the edge as a pebble dislodged by her shoe fell down the cliff. She gulped nervously and looked back at the snakeman who now had an evil grin in addition to its menacing fangs. His scaly hands reached for her.

"Don't touch her!" A hand grabbed the snakeman's shoulder and spun him around. Next thing Marlena knew the snakeman was on the ground and Randor was rubbing his fist.

"Randor!" Marlena hugged him. She was so glad to see him. Randor was glad she couldn't see his face which had turned all shades of red. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her but before he could hold her tight she pulled away. "Oh, Stratos!" She ran to the fallen bird man, who was now rubbing his head. "Stratos are you okay?" She asked as she helped him sit up.

"I've been better." He groaned.

"I was so worried." Marlena said with relief. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Apparently, we have different definitions of okay." The bird man joked.

Marlena laughed. Randor scowled at this scene. As the snakeman came to Randor kicked him in the head as he walked pass and knocked him out again.

"Well, I'm glad to see you both alive." Randor said breaking up their conversation. Marlena smiled at him. His chest tightened and he had a little trouble breathing. Speaking of breathing, Duncan's labored breath could be heard as he finally made it to the top. He bent over and tried to regain his breathe.

"Oh, Duncan, are you all right?" Marlena walked over to him.

Duncan held up and hand. "Just…give…me…a…second." He panted.

"What happened?" Randor touched Marlena on the shoulder. Marlena's eyes went wide. She had forgotten in her excitement.

"Randor, what's the Serpent's Ring?" She asked.

Randor frowned. "I can't say I've heard of it. Perhaps we need to visit the council of elders and The Sorceress."

"I've heard it's a talisman of the snakemen." Stratos said getting up slowly. "But I've heard that it was lost in the last war."

"Well, I have it here." Marlena pulled it out of her pocket. Then men stared at it wide-eyed.

"How?" Duncan looked at her.

"It fell off one of them when I knocked him down." Marlena explained.

"You knocked down a snakeman?" Stratos jaw had hit the floor.

"Well, he was coming after me so..." Marlena began.

"He came after you?" Randor's face flushed with anger.

"Yes, him and his friend." Marlena tried again.

"There were two of them?"Duncan interrupted her.

"Yes, please try to follow. I heard them say they were going to use this to take over the planet." Marlena continued.

"Well, it's a good thing you have it then." Stratos grinned.

"But it means they will be coming after it. We need to get back to the castle and have the soldiers comb this area." Randor said grimly.

"They can also get the wind raider while they're here." Marlena added.

"Oh yes, what happened to it?" Duncan asked.

"I landed it on top of the mountain." Marlena replied.

"You landed it?" Randor asked incredulously. "But it was flying wildly."

"I didn't land it very well." Marlena admitted.

"I think you did a great job considering that the wind raider was hexed." Stratos interjected.

"Is that what happened?" Duncan asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, I tested it with my crystal." Stratos confirmed.

"I see. That's another issue that we need to deal with. Stratos, I think you see why we need your people's allegiance. I hope I have it." Randor turned to the bird man.

Stratos nodded. "You have my people's support. The snakemen are every free creature's enemy and I am very much concerned for my friend."

"Agreed. Now let's get out of here before more arrive." Randor said grimly. He firmly put a protective arm around Marlena's waist and led her down the mountain. Stratos and Man-at-Arms exchanged glances before following the pair down.


	8. Chapter 8

**hooked: Thank you for your encouragement. **

**TeelanFalcao: Obrigado por seus comentários muito detalhados. Eu aprecio você me dizer o que você gostou. Espero que este continua a entreter.**

**I still don't own.**

When Randor and his group arrived back at the castle, he immediately dispatched Man-at-Arms to gather the royal guards to go back to Mount Eternia to take care of the snakemen. Stratos went to find his companions so that he can send one of them to get reinforcements from Avion. Randor insisted that Marlena be checked out by the healers. As he was leading her there, they met up with Lady Tala. If she was upset to see them, she didn't show it.

"Oh Marlena, how did the rest of the test go?" She asked as if nothing had happened.

"Well, there was some excitement but I think it went well." Marlena answered vaguely.

Randor had warned her against giving too many details until they figured out who had tampered with the wind raider.

Something flickered in Lady Tala's eyes but was quickly masked. "Oh, and where is the wind raider?"

"We left it on Mount Eternia." Randor answered for her. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to get to the healers."

"Is it intact?" She asked nonchalantly.

"It's fine." Randor pushed past Tala while griping Marlena's waist tightly.

The intimate way Randor was holding Marlena was not lost on Tala. Inside she was shaking with rage but on the exterior, she merely waved and said sweetly. "See you then at the noon day meal." Randor did not even acknowledge she had spoken.

When they were out of earshot Marlena said softly, "Don't you think you were a little… short with her?"

"No." Randor answered simply.

Further conversations were curtailed because they had arrived at the healers. Marlena was given a thorough check-up.

"Just a few scratches, nothing to be concerned about." The healer announced as he walked Marlena from the exam room.

"Thank you." Marlena said.

"Yes, thank you." Randor said with relief. He was waiting outside the exam room. The healer nodded and left them.

Marlena looked at him in surprise. "You were waiting for me?"

"Of course. I wanted to make sure you were safe." Randor stepped closer to her.

"I'm fine." Marlena looked away. She felt her face grow warm.

"We also need to get this to The Sorceress and ask her about it." He produced the serpent's ring from his inside pocket.

"Let's do that now. That thing gives me the heebie jeebies." Marlena said.

"What do you have?" Randor looked at her.

"Sorry, I mean that thing makes me nervous." Marlena amended.

"Then let's go." Randor offered her his arm. Marlena hesitantly took it.

0o0

Marlena stood next to Randor in the chambers of the Council of Elders. It was hard to believe she was just here. She again tried not to fidget under the stern gaze of the glowing men. In a flash of blinding light The Sorceress appeared.

"You have summoned me, King Randor." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Sorceress, we have recovered something from the snakemen." Randor stepped forward and pulled out the ring.

Marlena saw a troubled look pass through the woman's face before it was covered up.

"That is the serpent's ring. It has great power to do great evil." She held out her hand and Randor deposited the ring onto her open palm. The ring glowed green and the red jeweled eyes flashed an angry red. It began sizzling. The Sorceress dropped the ring and it returned to normal.

"It is protected by evil magic." She noted sadly. "I am unable to touch it less I set off its power."

"Then what shall we do with it?" Randor asked worriedly.

"You must guard it until I can find a way to counteract its magic. I must search my books." The Sorceress said. She began floating up to the ceiling.

"Wait." Randor held up his hand. "Today the wind raider was magically tampered with. Is there anyway you can tell how and by whom?"

"Perhaps, but you must bring it to me. I will be at Greyskull studying in the hall of knowledge." With that The Sorceress disappeared in a flash as did the Council of Elders.

"I don't think I'll ever get use to that." Marlena muttered.

"You will." Randor said. Then Marlena looked at him strangely. He realized what he had said. "I mean, you don't have to get use to it much longer since you'll be going home." When her look got even stranger he started babbling. "It's a lot to get use to in such a short period of time. Time you don't have." Marlena's expression didn't change but she walked away. Randor wished he could take everything back and start over again but he knew that was too late. He just followed her.

"So you should probably put that thing under lock and key." Marlena said changing the subject.

"Yes, I will." Randor agreed.

"Well, I'm tuckered out from this morning. I think I'll go to my room." Marlena veered off. Surprised, Randor grabbed her arm.

"But it's time for the noon day meal. Surely you must be hungry." He said almost desperately.

"No, I'm fine." Marlena pulled her arm out of his grasp and hurried away. All Randor could do was watch her go and wonder if he had somehow offended her.

In all honesty, Marlena didn't want him to see her cry. His words echoed in her ears. Although his actions seem to indicate that he liked her around, his words seem to say otherwise. Did he want her to leave soon? Was she a nuisance or causing problems for him as Lady Tala was implying? She was confused and conflicted. She was growing fond of the planet and its king. She wanted to be alone to sort through her thoughts and feelings. As she entered her room she saw Fawna and another girl making up her room. Although she was not in the mood to talk, she nonetheless smiled at the young servant girls.

"Hello, ladies. Fawna, how are you?" Marlena said politely. Both girls curtsied and Marlena did likewise.

"Oh, no you don't need to curtsy back." Fawna said alarmed. "You are the guest and we're the servants."

"I suppose. But it seems rather stuffy." Marlena commented. "How about neither of us curtsy?"

"No, ma'am. King Randor would not be pleased." The other girl added. She strode off to the other room to start tidying up there.

"You know what? You ladies can go. This room isn't that messy and I'd rather be alone right now."

"Oh, did the wind raider not fly?" Fawna asked as she picked up the pitcher of water.

"No, it flew but it could have gone better." Marlena said remorsefully.

There was a crash. Surprised Marlena looked up to see Fawna picking up the pieces of the broken pitcher.

"Oh, what happened?" Marlena came over to help.

"The wind raider flew? Did it… did it cause any problems?" She said with voice trembling.

"Well, yes there was a little glitch. Nothing I couldn't handle." Marlena was a little confused by her questions.

"Did it… did it crash?" She asked.

"Well, it flew a little erratically but it's fine." Marlena responded.

"Were you hurt?" She asked in a small voice.

"Well, if I was, would I be here? Why do you ask?" Marlena asked suspiciously.

"No, nothing. I'm sorry about the pitcher. I'm so clumsy. I'll go get you another one." She rushed out clutching the broken pieces.

Marlena watched the girl run out of the room. She knew there was something off but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

0o0

Fawna rushed down the hall ignoring the indignant cries as she pushed past people. She located the room she wanted and burst in.

"You said it would just not fly!" Fawna accused the figure in the chair who was getting a facial and having her nails done.

Lady Tala lifted the towel from her eyes and looked over lazily at the furious servant girl.

She clapped her hands and the servants working on her feet and hands quickly got up and left. When they were alone, Tala looked at the angry servant girl stonily.

"Growing a backbone, are you?" She said bitingly.

"You said the powder would just stop the wind raider from working." She said a little more quietly now that her anger was spent.

"I said nothing of the sort. It was something I purchased from a traveling wizard. All he said was that it disrupts mechanical objects. I didn't know what the powder would do but apparently it wasn't enough, seeing as the alien is still moving around."

Fawna's face paled. "You said she wouldn't be hurt."

"Oh, the plan was not to hurt her but to humiliate her. Let's see Randor attach himself to a laughingstock. "She said derisively.

"I won't help you anymore." Fawna tried to sound firm.

"I think you will if you ever hope to see your father again." She said scornfully.

"I won't. My father would understand." Fawna said.

"Well, how would the king look upon someone who tampered with the wind raider?" Tala smirked.

"Upon your orders." Fawna said shocked.

"I'm sure the king would love to hear that excuse. Perhaps there will be two members in your family is prison." Tala's smirk turned into a snarl. "Believe me, little wench, if you tell anyone you will be the first to face the gallows."

All remaining blood drained from her face. "They'll believe me."

"Believe you? A nobody? My dear, don't you know how things work around here?" Tala looked at her nails then at the trembling girl. "I suggest that you go find some weakness in this alien so that we may get rid of her as quickly as possible. Then all our troubles will be over. But believe me, if you cross me, you'll wish you'd never been born." Tala snapped her fingers. A burly guard appeared out of no where. Fawna was unceremoniously dumped outside the room.

"I already wish that." She said softly.

0o0

Lady Tala went back to her grooming but inside she was seething. Her plan to embarrass the alien didn't go well. She was hoping that the powder would cause the wind raider to crash spectacularly. If the alien happened to get hurt… well, that would be unfortunate but understandable… _after all she did_ _exaggerate_ _about how well she could fly_. And when the wind raider began flying unsteadily, she was ready to point out how it was inevitable that the alien would crash _since she exaggerated her skills_. Then Randor made that announcement. It immediately stopped the rumors she was trying to start. She needed to find that wizard and get her money back. The magic powered did not cause as much mayhem as she had wanted. Now if the wind raider had come back in pieces she could still point out to everyone that the _talented _alien had crashed the ship. But her sources had just informed her that the wind raider was brought back undamaged. So she needed something else she could use. The nobles were impressed right now by the alien but Tala knew they were fickle. All the alien needed to do was commit one faux pas and the nobles would be over her. Tala smiled to herself. She just had to help the alien along.

0o0

Randor knew that perhaps she wouldn't welcome his presence right now but after spending a whole afternoon with no sign of the snakemen, he wanted to see her again if just to reassure himself that she was all right. He knocked on her door. He heard the lock click and the door opened half-way.

"Oh, hello." Marlena said nervously.

"Are you well?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said quietly.

"Then would you like to accompany me to dinner tonight?" He asked.

"I'm kind of tired still and I'm not really hungry. I'll just…" She said as she closed the door. Randor's foot shot out and held it open. Marlena looked at him in surprise.

"Please, you haven't had any sustenance since this morning. If you're tired it's probably from lack of nourishment. If you'd rather not see anyone we can dine alone again." Randor insisted.

Marlena looked down. For what seemed like an eternity she didn't answer. Randor was about to speak again when she finally spoke.

"I… I guess I should go to dinner. It would be rude not to see Stratos after what he did for me." Marlena said softly.

Randor felt as if someone stabbed him in the gut but he put on a smile and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure Stratos would miss seeing you, too." At this point he was not picky why she was coming as long as she came.

Marlena stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her. Randor made a small bow and motioned for her to go ahead. She smiled slightly and walked down the hall.

When they arrived in the hall, she took a deep breath before going in. Just as she expected everyone turned to look at her. What she didn't expect was everyone stood up and applauded. She stood there unable to move. Randor put a hand on her back and led her to her seat. As she passed by, people congratulated her on a successful flight as well as taking on the snakemen. She looked quizzically at Randor who only looked straight ahead. When she reached her seat, everyone sat down when she did. Food was served immediately. Everyone looked expectantly at Randor.

He stood up and in a regal voice said, "Will you all raise a glass to out guest who not only successfully tested one of our vehicles but foiled a plot by the snakemen."

Whispering broke out across the table as the nobles raised their glasses to Marlena. Marlena blushed and nodded her thanks as she also stood with her cup up. All took a sip and sat down to their meal.

Marlena looked at Randor, "Is this why you wanted me to come to dinner?"

Randor shook his head, "No, I was worried that you haven't eaten all day. This… this was spontaneous."

"I'm afraid that would be my fault." Stratos admitted. "I was telling everyone about your bravery in discovering the snakemen's plot."

"Oh, well, it was nothing." Marlena looked at her food.

"Oh, you are just too modest." Tala cooed. "Randor, I must insist again that you throw a ball in her honor."

"Now, Tala, I thought I told you that…" Randor said in a warning tone.

"I think it is a splendid idea." Lord Baem nodded enthusiastically. "After all if she has helped us out, I believe the least we could do is honor her with a celebration."

"Technically, the least you could do is nothing." Marlena said in such a low voice only Randor and Stratos heard her. Stratos snickered and Randor nearly choked on his wine trying not to laugh.

"Something you find funny, Lord Stratos?" Lord Baem frowned wondering what he had missed.

"Nothing, good sir, I was merely agreeing that having a ball is a good idea." Stratos answered.

"What?" Marlena and Randor exclaimed at the same time.

"Well, yes, I think it would give you as well as me a sample of the courtly life here in the palace." Stratos said casually.

"Of course, it would be a good change of pace for all of us." Man-at-Arms caught on what Stratos was trying to do.

What the two did not realize was that Randor was wary of anything that Tala would suggest but he was now backed into a corner. With a look at Tala's smug face, he knew she had planned this but again to what end? All the nobles were heartily agreeing a ball honoring the alien was a wonderful idea. If he rejected it, it could look like he did not have any regard towards Marlena.

He chewed slowly so he could formulate an answer. "I don't think Marlena would be comfortable having this ball."

Marlena agreed, "I don't have anything to wear."

"Nonsense, I can send you my personal seamstress to make you a dress." Tala said airily.

"I…I…I don't want to put anyone out." Marlena tried again.

"No one will be put out. It is easily done." Lord Baem interjected.

"Then it is settled. We're going to have a ball." Tala squealed.

All the people around the table talked cheerily about the upcoming ball. Marlena looked helplessly at Randor who gave an imperceptible shrug. Apparently, Randor could not stop this ball from happening. To avoid sounding ungrateful, Marlena smiled and graciously accepted. Great, now she was forced to go to a dance. She hoped it won't be as awkward as her junior prom.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you:**

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As Marlena woke up the next morning to her _clock_ alarm(which she turned off by hitting it with her pillow), she laid in bed thinking about various things but mostly about Randor. He was such a gentleman, always concerned about her welfare and comfort. The planet he ruled was beautiful. She could see herself living here. But would Randor want her to stay? Sometimes it felt like he did and then sometimes it didn't. And what about her life on Earth? The life she had worked so hard to build. She loved her job and her family. A pang of guilt washed over her. She barely gave them much thought after the first night. She sat up on the bed and glanced at the album that lay untouched since she had shown Fawna. Speaking of Fawna, she certainly asked some strange and disturbing questions. How did she know she was testing the wind raider? Did she ever mention it to her? She racked her brain. She was around Man-at-Arms' workshop that evening before the test. Maybe she overheard them talking? She couldn't shake the odd feeling in her gut. Then again all the nobles had found out. Maybe that was how Fawna had found out as well. She hoped that the coincidences were innocent because she liked Fawna.

In fact, Marlena liked all the people she had met. The people of this planet were so nice. Just yesterday she made friends with the whole kitchen staff. She had come in after dinner to talk to them about what she'd like on the menu for her ball. Randor insisted that she pick the foods she would like to eat, again very thoughtful of him. She spent the rest of the night talking to them, learning about their lives. She even showed them how to make fudge brownies with the chocolate-like substance from the planet. The staff was thrilled by the snack. The head chef even put it on the royal menu.

Marlena was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice that she had dressed herself in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Her jumpsuit was beyond wearing after several days of prancing around in it. She shook herself out of her reverie and glanced at the _clock,_ which lay on the ground from her earlier efforts of turning it off. They called it a chronometer here. She had to remember that not everything had the same name as Earth. Someone had thoughtfully set the alarm on the chronometer this morning. Marlena picked it off the floor and placed it back in its place. It was probably set yesterday as well but she had gotten up before it in her eagerness to get on with the test flight. She looked at her reflection one last time before stepping out. The hallway was empty except for some guards on duty. They greeted her with a curt nod which she likewise returned. Making her way to the dining area she arrived to see Fawna passing by. She followed the girl into the kitchen. She was picking up a tray that was set out and put it on the cart.

"Hello Fawna, beautiful day isn't it?" She ventured to say.

Fawna jumped. "Oh I didn't see you."

"Is everything all right? You never came back with the pitcher yesterday."

"I'm fine." The nervous twisting of her hands belied her words.

"You know if there's something wrong you can tell me." Marlena prompted.

'No, everything is fine." She said unconvincingly.

"Whatever it is I will try my best to help." It was sort of a lie since she wasn't sure what she could actually do to help.

Fawna just shook her head and began pushing the cart out.

"Ah, Marlena." The head chef called out. "There you are. Are you sure you do not want to sample some of our wines?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. I was meaning to tell you that the healers said I needed to avoid that. Apparently I don't have an enzyme to deal with it." Marlena said.

"What does that mean?" The chef frowned.

"I think it means I will probably get very drunk after a sip." She laughed.

"So should I not cook with it either?"

"That's a good question maybe I need to go to the healers to clarify..."

Outside the door Fawna had her ear near the door and was listening to the conversation. The door opened suddenly and she made herself look busy by pushing the cart quickly to its destination.

When she arrived at Lady Tala's room she knocked. A burly guard opened the door to let her in. She rolled the cart in and set out the food in front of Tala. When she was done she stood motionless before her.

"Well?" Tala eyed her disdainfully.

"I think I found a weakness in the alien." She said quietly with downcast eyes.

Tala leaned back in her chair and placed her fingertips together. "Go on."

0o0

Marlena entered the dining hall. Randor, Stratos and Man-at-Arms were there already as well as a smattering of nobles. Marlena wondered where everyone was today.

Randor in the meantime couldn't take his eyes off her. He had never seen an outfit like that before. How could something be so modest yet so provocative at the same time?

"Good morning." Stratos greeted her and started moving his chair back to get up.

Randor without looking away got up faster and was by her side in an instant. He offered his arm and smiling she took it. When she was seated, she returned Stratos' greeting.

"Good morning?" Duncan asked looking at Marlena, "Is that an Earth greeting?"

"Yes, sorry. I guess I can't help using familiar terms." Marlena said apologetically.

"No need to apologize. I rather like that greeting. Good morning." Duncan smiled at her.

"As do I." Stratos agreed. "Don't you King Randor?"

"Hmm, what was that?" Randor finally tore his eyes away from Marlena.

"I think we should start using _good morning_ as a greeting." Stratos said.

"Sure, great." Randor turned back to Marlena who had started eating.

"Where is everyone this morning?" She asked after swallowing.

"Oh usually, the morning before a ball most people are busy getting ready." Duncan answered casually.

Marlena choked on the next bite. "Tonight?" She managed to squeak out after a slight coughing fit.

Randor alarmed had started to stand up when Marlena motioned for him to stay where he was. She took a sip of water.

"Sorry, food went down the wrong pipes." She explained to the concerned men. She cleared her throat. "The ball's tonight?"

"Well, of course, there's much to do but most of the nobles are here already and it will be a small ball… only few hundred guests…" Randor started to say.

"A few hundred is small?" Marlena squeaked again.

"Well, yes. Often times it could be as many as several thousand in attendance as in the winter festival." Duncan agreed.

"Oh my," Marlena was glad she was sitting down, otherwise her knees may give out. She didn't realize that there would be so many people there looking at her.

"Are you feeling well?" Randor asked with concern as blood drained from her face.

"I'm fine. Just feeling a little overwhelmed." She tried to smile but she was sure it came out like a grimace. "I guess I need to take Lady Tala up on that seamstress."

"Actually, I was going to escort you today to the marketplace to get a dress." Randor said calmly.

"Really? You're going shopping with me?" Despite her anxiety she was amused by the thought that a mighty king was going to go clothes shopping with her.

"I suppose I am." Randor said.

"Don't you need to do official royal things?" Marlena asked.

"My day has been cleared. Don't worry about safety. We will be accompanied by the royal guards." He added quickly.

"Oh, okay but I wasn't worried about that." Marlena smiled.

"If you are ready, then we should go." Randor held out a hand. Marlena took it now without hesitation. Randor looked pointedly at Duncan who nodded. Then they walked out together. Duncan and Stratos looked at each other with smiles satisfied that the king and Marlena would be spending time together.

0o0

Marlena looked in awe at the marketplace. Randor suggested that perhaps she should change her attire so that she would be less conspicuous. Marlena had to borrow a dress from one of the servants. She didn't ask any of the nobles since she didn't think they had anything plain. Randor himself was wearing a very plain white shirt and brown slacks. No crown adorned his head. The guards following them were also discretely dressed and walked a few paces behind them. They blended in perfectly

Marlena was delighted in all the stalls set up. She flitted from vendor to vendor staring at their wares and asking questions. She talked to each person cordially. The sellers were more than happy to talk to her and the ones selling food gave her samples. Her warmth and enthusiasm seemed to rub off on everyone. Randor couldn't help but admire how easily she communicated with the common people and how genuinely she cared about their lives. Randor took special note as to which vendor was especially kind to Marlena. Perhaps someone from the royal palace will be paying them a visit soon.

At one particular stall selling jewelry, Marlena was transfixed by the assortment of gems that she had never seen before.

"What is this?" She pointed at a particularly glittery green stone attached to a gold chain. "It looks like an emerald from Ea… I mean from where I live." Marlena kicked herself for almost giving herself away.

"Emerald, miss?" The elderly hawker asked. "I've never heard of an emerald before. This is a chromberyl stone cut and polished by hand until it shines like the sun."

"Oh my, it is beautiful. And you did this yourself?" She looked at the gentleman who nodded. "You do beautiful work, sir."

The elderly man smiled and thanked her. Marlena chatted with him a little more about the different stones he had on display. She touched the chromberyl necklace one more time before regretfully leaving to another stall. When Marlena was out of earshot, Randor turned to the vendor. "How much?"

"100 crowns." The man answered.

Randor immediately pulled out his purse but the gentleman held up his hand.

"Just take it." He handed the necklace to Randor.

"No, no, I couldn't." He stammered.

"It's for the young lady, is it not? Well, I can tell when a man is in love and when the young are starting out, the old should help them along, eh?" The vendor winked at Randor, who blushed.

"Thank you. "Randor took the gift but made note to come back later to pay him. Right now he didn't want Marlena to notice that he wasn't with her. He hurried to catch up with her.

0o0

They finally made it to the dressmaker. The ladies took Marlena's measurements while Randor watched. When they were done Marlena was sent to pick out fabrics. There was a whole wall filled with rollers of different colored and patterned cloths. Staring at the wall of material, Marlena once again felt overwhelmed. Randor saw the frown on her face and came over to help.

"How about this?" Randor pulled on a dark green fabric.

"Oh, it's a lovely shade of green." Marlena ran her hand over the material.

"Yes, it complements your hair and brings out your eyes." Randor said unthinkingly.

Marlena looked at him in surprise. She involuntarily touched her hair.

Before she could say anything the seamstress came over.

"Oh wonderful choice. It's our most popular fabric. This is a beautiful shade." The lady jabbered on as she proceeded to cut the material with her shears. "The dress will be completed in a few hours. If you'd like to look at any of out pre-made dresses they are in the next store."

Marlena looked at Randor wordlessly and he nodded. They walked out together to the next store. Once there she tried on several dresses. Randor watched her model each one with an appreciative eye. Marlena was wondering what the protocol was for spending the king's money. She didn't want to take advantage of his generosity. She tried to pick dresses she felt were the least expensive but Randor insisted that she buy some of the more expensive ones because he liked how it looked on her. By the time they were done it was past the time for the noon day meal.

"How about something to eat?" Randor suggested.

"That would be great." Marlena replied. "I'm starving."

"You should have said something sooner." Randor said worriedly.

"No, I'd rather get the shopping over with in one shot." Marlena assured him.

"I know a quiet place that serves some Eternian specialties." Randor said as he opened the door for her.

Marlena thanked him as she stepped outside.

0o0

Randor again marveled at how easily they were able to talk. The meal was delicious but he cherished the company the most. They laughed at her stories of her family. (Her brother trying to sneak back into the house way after curfew was almost caught but thanks to his quick thinking managed to convince their parents that he was actually getting up early to do the chores on the farm.) He told her several of his more interesting court problems (One of the courtiers refused to acknowledge he had an odor problem so Randor convinced him to wear a scented cape by telling him it was a good luck talisman.)

They lost track of time until one of the guards discretely came over to remind them that they had to return to the palace soon. After paying for the meal, they walked back to pick up the dress. Marlena went into the back room for one last fitting while Randor went to the front to pay. When Marlena was done she came out with her package. They thanked the proprietors and the entire staff before leaving. They made their way back to their transport which they had left at the edge of town so that their arrival was inconspicuous.

After the packages were stowed away, they sat down next to each other as they were chauffeured back to the palace.

"Thank you for a lovely day." Marlena said. "And thank you for all these dresses. If there's anything I can do to repay you for your hospitality…" She stopped when Randor held up his hand.

"There's no need for any thanks. It was completely my pleasure." He stopped and looked like he was struggling to say something. Swallowing hard he pulled out the necklace. Marlena's eyes went wide.

"I think this will go well with the dress." He said quietly.

Marlena couldn't speak at first. "Oh, no, I couldn't possibly accept this. Not after all you've already done for me."

"No, please, take it. It's for you to remember our day." He finished lamely unable to express anymore.

"I'll always remember this day with you." Marlena said softly.

The distance between them seemed to decrease. Just as their lips were inches apart, the vehicle jerked to a stop.

They pulled apart immediately as the door opened.

"Home." The guard announced.

Randor glanced regretfully at Marlena before exiting. Then he turned around to help her out. The moment was gone. She quickly gathered her packages. Turning to Randor she thanked him again before fleeing to her room.

Randor watched her go, cursing the short ride home.

0o0

While Randor and Marlena was shopping Duncan was tasked with bringing his wind raider to The Sorceress at Castle Grayskull to be examined.

"Sorceress?" He yelled out uncertain how he was suppose to get in.

There was a long silence. Duncan was about to call again when the drawbridge suddenly dropped. He jumped a little then looked around sheepishly hoping no one saw that. He moved the wind raider into the castle. He left the wind raider in the foyer and walked to the throne room. As he approached the throne room, he was greeted by a familiar face.

"Brother! It's good to see you." Duncan greeted the man.

"Yes, it's good to see you as well." The man grasped Duncan's arm in a form of a handshake.

"Is The Sorceress about?" He asked.

"My wife is in the library. I'll go get her." He walked away.

A second later The Sorceress appeared on the throne. "Greetings, Man-at-Arms. Did you bring the wind raider?"

"Yes, how did you..." Duncan began.

"Do you have to ask?" She said slightly amused.

"Sorry. Sometimes I forget who I'm talking to." Duncan said apologetically.

"It's all right. Now let's take a look at that wind raider." She rose from her throne.

0o0

Duncan watched as she waved her hands over the wind raider. The wind raider began to glow faintly in the dim light of the castle. A few minutes later she turned to Duncan.

"I sense the residue of a magical powder. It contains the pollen of the Black Crocus " The Sorceress produced a round piece of glass from thin air. It floated to Duncan who held out his hand. The glass landed gently into his awaiting hand.

"Nice, but what is it?" Duncan looked at the glass curiously.

"It is a magic glass. Look through it." She instructed Duncan.

Duncan closed one eye and peered through it with the other at The Sorceress. He saw a faint pink aurora around her.

"Anyone who has been in contact with the powder will have the same aurora around them." The Sorceress said.

"Thank you. This will help us to discover who tampered with the wind raider." Duncan said gratefully.

The Sorceress nodded. "But remember, Man-at-Arms, things are not always what they seem." With those cryptic words she disappeared. The draw bridge lowered. It was his cue to leave.

"I know my wife sometimes speaks in riddles but she is always right." The Sorceress' husband walked into the foyer.

"I know. I do not fault her for being mysterious. She is the guardian of the most powerful magic of all of Eternia. That is a heavy burden to bear." Duncan said sympathetically.

"Aye, that it is. Any news on the snakemen?" He asked.

"Nothing yet. We have the serpent's ring locked away. Hopefully, she'll find a way to render it harmless." Duncan said.

"If you need me, I am always a soldier first. I am ready to fight along side my brothers." He said seriously.

"I know. But it is still your honeymoon period. Enjoy it. If the need arises I am sure you will be summoned." Duncan said.

The two soldiers grasped arms again and Duncan departed with the wind raider and magic glass in hand.

**Despite so many continuity problems I'm still going to try to follow as much of the details of the show as possible. It was mentioned that The Sorceress was married to a soldier who was Duncan's friend. Since he was never named and I am not comfortable with making names up for people (in case he ever is named, I would hate for it not to be canon). So I kept him very general. The term brother that Duncan uses does not mean they are related but along the lines of ****"_a fellow brother-soldier_"****.** **I hope you're okay with that. I know I've read a lot of fanfic that has Duncan being Teela's biological father and The Sorceress' husband. But if I were to stay true to certain elements for the here and now then The Sorceress and a soldier has married. She later conceives a child but her husband dies before Teela is born. The Sorceress unable to raise the child alone and safely gives Teela up to Duncan, who raises her as his own. Who knows maybe in the future The Sorceress and Duncan can get together? It can still happen. And on another side note, I do like Adam/Teela pairing but also in keeping with statements made in the show, Teela is suppose to take over for her mother. Many fics have Teela marrying Adam and never becoming Sorceress. I actually don't think it is incompatible to have Teela both as queen and sorceress. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Till next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AdTeeFan: Thanks for reviewing again.**

**Guest: I know, I know, sorry for the fake out. As for everything else, you'll just have to wait and see. And let me apologize ahead of time for this cliffhanger.**

**hooked: I like details but I sometimes feel I put too much in and make the story clunky. Still learning what makes a story interesting and what makes is tedious. **

**TeelanaFalcao:** **Como sempre os seus comentários me fazer feliz. Estou feliz que você gosta da história. Eu tento fazer minhas histórias acompanhar tão de perto com o enredo original possível. Mas como eu disse antes, com HeMan a intenção original foi perdido. Então eu preciso tomar algumas liberites mas, em geral, eu ainda gostaria de mantê-lo o mais próximo do original possível.**

**Lanafalcon:** **Gracias por el envío de su apoyo. Sé que usted puede cambiar las cosas en la ****Ficción de los Fanáticos****, pero me sigue gustando las cosas para mantener lo más cerca a la línea de la historia original como sea posible. Estoy loca. Pero es difícil con HeMan porque muchas cosas se contradicen. Espero que siga disfrutando de esta historia.**

**Thank you for reading. I'm glad you're still interested. **

**I do not own anything.**

Marlena ran into her room and slammed the door shut. She then made sure the door was locked before dropping the packages on the floor. She ran into the room where the bed was located and threw herself on it. Burying her head into the pillows she screamed. When all her frustration was spent she rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"What was that, Marlena? What on Earth are you doing? You can't go falling in love with an alien king. You have to go home." She said aloud into the room. But the words sounded hollow to her. Where was home anyway? She sprung up and grabbed her album and plopped back down on the bed. Flipping through the pages she studied each person. As she looked at her grandparents she realized that each of them had left their home and families to come to America. There they made new friends, met their spouses, married and had children. They never went back to their birth country. She studied her parents. Her father grew up on the farm. Mother was a city girl. They had met at school and had fallen in love. Mother left her comfortable life in the city and settled down to become a farmer's wife. She confided in Marlena once that it was a difficult adjustment at first but eventually, her love for her husband helped to overcome any of her doubts, fears, and insecurities. But what did that mean for her in the here and now on a strange planet? She closed her eyes.

Just then she heard a rapping at the door. She lay still hoping the person would go away but the knocking continued. Sighing, Marlena lifted her head.

"Yes?" She called out.

"I beg your pardon, milady but I was sent to help you get ready for the ball." A voice muffled by the door replied.

Marlena groaned. She had forgotten all about the ball. She rolled over and pushed herself up. Then smoothing down her hair and dress she walked to the door and opened it up. Putting on a smile she looked at the lady at the door. She was not a young girl but an older woman probably around her own mother's age.

"I'm sorry," Marlena apologized.

"Whatever for?" The woman asked startled.

"Well, for keeping you waiting." Marlena said apologetically.

"Oh, dear me, the nobles are always keeping me waiting." She chuckled. "You were quite prompt, all things considered."

"Well, nonetheless, I'm sorry." Marlena said. "Now what do you need me to do?"

"You to do?" The woman asked. "You don't have to do anything. I'm here to do everything for you."

Marlena raised an eyebrow.

0o0

Randor was not in the best of moods when he arrived at his room. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Man-at-Arms and Stratos waiting in his outer chambers.

"Well, man? How did it go?" Stratos asked immediately.

"What are you two doing here?" Randor asked.

Duncan cleared his throat, somewhat embarrassed. "Sire, I wanted to tell you what I have learned from the Sorceress. He…" Duncan nodded his head toward Stratos, "wanted to know how your excursion went."

"So?" Stratos asked eagerly.

"I don't see how this is any of your business." Randor said snappishly.

"Of course, it is my business. I want to know how my friends did." Stratos replied waving his hand carelessly.

"I still say that… wait, did you say friends." Randor paused looking at Stratos.

"Yes, yes, all friends here." Stratos said impatiently. "Did you tell her?"

"You consider us friends?" Randor asked trying to clarify Stratos' earlier statement.

Stratos sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why were non-bird people so slow? He took a deep breath and slowly enunciated each word. "Yes, we are friends… allies… comrades, and whatever other word that means friend. I want to know how your outing went. Did you tell her how you feel?"

Randor was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that not more than a few days ago, Stratos had essentially demanded that Randor relinquish some of his territory. He can only attribute it to Marlena's influence. He shook his head to clear it. "I didn't get a chance to tell her."

"What?" Stratos roared. "You were with her for the whole day!"

"You don't just come out and say things like that!" Randor protested.

"And why ever not?" Stratos challenged. "How else will you know if she feels the same way?"

"What do you care how she feels? Are you waiting for her to reject me so you can court her?" Randor asked testily.

Stratos jaw dropped. His shoulders started shaking, then his whole body. He threw his head back and let out a loud guffaw while clutching his sides.

Randor glared at the bird man. "I don't see what's so funny."

Stratos was still laughing but it was subsiding into chuckles. He gasped for air. When it seemed like he was stopping he burst into another fit of laughter again.

"Fine, if you want to jest, I'll be in my room conferring with Man-at-Arms." He motioned to Duncan who was being greatly entertained by the exchange.

"No, wait, it's just…" Stratos gasped for air before continuing through his giggles, "it's just I was thinking how my _wife_ would react when I tell her you thought I was trying to court someone."

"_Your wife?_" Randor and Duncan gaped at the still laughing bird man.

"Is there an echo in here? Yes, my wife. She's quite possessive of me, I might add." Stratos smirked.

"Why didn't you say you had a wife?" Randor narrowed his eyes at him.

Stratos shrugged. "It never came up in conversation. Actually, I have to meet her and the delegate from Avion soon. They are here to help with the snakemen problem."

"They will be coming to the ball, of course?" Duncan inquired.

"Certainly, I've already informed your assistants." Stratos walked to the door. "Don't think this is over Randor." With that he was gone.

"I have no doubt you will continue to harp on it." Randor muttered under his breath.

"I heard that." Stratos called from the other side of the door.

Randor ignored him and turned to Duncan. "What news do you have for me?"

Duncan was hiding a smile discretely behind his hand. When his king addressed him, he immediately became serious. He told him everything that he had learned from The Sorceress. He also showed him the magic glass. He and Stratos had spent the afternoon scouring the palace looking for the residue.

"It's difficult. We had to be discreet and I don't think we got everyone. Many are in their rooms getting ready for tonight. So far no one other than me and Stratos has the aura." Duncan said sadly.

"I'm sure you did your best. Stratos is coming in quite handy." Randor mused.

"Yes, he said he'll be using the glass tonight to scan the people at the ball." Duncan said.

"That is a good idea."

"So how did it go?" Duncan asked.

"We need to take the scenic route home next time." Randor grumbled.

"What was that?" Duncan asked startled.

"Nothing. I should prepare for the ball tonight too. Have my personal assistant come here."

"Very good your highness." Duncan went to the door.

"Is the serpent's ring secure?" Randor asked.

"Absolutely your majesty." Duncan assured him.

"Double the security around the perimeter. I want nothing happening tonight." He said grimly.

"I understand." Duncan bowed before leaving Randor to his thoughts.

0o0

Marlena soaked in the tub. She had to convince Jany, who was not use to being asked her name, that she was well able to bathe herself. She was not comfortable being waited on. She was use to doing things for herself. A knock came from outside the bathroom.

"Milady, do you need any help?"

"No, Jany, I'm fine. I'll be out in a second." Marlena called as she rinsed the last of the suds from her hair. She rose from the tub and grabbed a towel. She quickly dried herself before putting on her robe. She opened the door. Jany was hovering outside it.

"Do you need anything, milady?" She asked anxiously.

Marlena internally sighed but outwardly said, "No, honey, I'm fine."

The servant looked surprised.

"I'm sorry did I say something wrong?" Marlena asked worriedly.

"No…no… milady. It's just that all my years no one has ever called me that." Jany stammered.

"Oh, well, you are very sweet. " Marlena replied. "Thank you for all your help."

"But milady…" Jany began.

"And please call me Marlena." Marlena said warmly. "Friends don't have to be so formal."

"But nobles must be addressed…"

"It's a good thing I'm not a noble." Marlena smiled. "Now how about helping me do my hair."

Jany stood stun for a few seconds before immediately moving to help Marlena with her hair.

A few hours later Marlena was completely decked out. Jany stood back and clasped her hands together. "Oh you look beautiful." She declared.

Marlena who had been avoiding her reflection finally stepped in front of the mirror. She almost didn't recognize the person in mirror. Her short red hair was swept back and a glittering tiara held it in place. Her make-up was minimal. She had to convince Jany that she didn't want to look like a clown. After several tries Marlena finally approved how her she looked. The deep rich red lipstick made her lips look fuller. The mascara and eyeliner brought out her eyes. But it was the dress that made the look. It was made of a shimmery green fabric that seemed to hug her every curve. A gold belt encircled her tiny waist making it look even thinner. She looked every bit like a princess from a fairy tale.

"Too bad you don't have a necklace. Your neck looks bare." Jany commented.

Marlena remembered. "I think I might have something. She went to her discarded dress from the morning. She rummaged through the pockets and produced the necklace Randor had gotten her from the market place.

She handed it to Jany whose eyes lit up. She immediately released the clasp and put it around Marlena's neck.

"There now you're perfect, more beautiful than any of those of royal blood." Jany noted with satisfaction.

"Thank you, Jany but I'm sure you're just exaggerating." Marlena turned to look at her back.

"No, mila… I mean Marlena. You truly look like a princess." She smiled.

Marlena smiled back. "Well, I hope I can act like one."

Jany's face darkened. "No, you do not want to be like them."

"Why?" Marlena asked surprised.

"The nobility have not been too kind to us commoners." She said matter-of-factly. "Some laws are not… fair to us common folk."

"Like what?" Marlena asked.

"Well, there's one in particular. When we are unable to pay out debts we are placed in prison until it can be repaid."

"That's awful! How are you able to pay it if you're in prison? It sounds a lot like one of our laws on Earth until we got rid of it."

"That would be wonderful. Many of us have been affected by it, like poor Fawna."

"Fawna?" Marlena frowned. "What happened?"

"Oh her poor father was jailed when he was unable to repay a debt to Lord Baem." Jany said in low tones. "She's been working overtime for that family trying to get her father out."

"Does the king know about this?" Marlena asked disturbed.

"Well, King Randor is a relatively new king. King Miro, his father, was about to repeal the law before he disappeared. King Randor has been dealing with many problems in the kingdom. This situation is minor compared to all he has to deal with."

"It's not minor to you! I think something should be done." Marlena said forcefully.

"That would be nice but don't worry yourself over this. Go have a nice time at your ball. Now before I go I was asked to show you a few formalities." Jany patted her back.

Marlena didn't say anything. She was determined to help them but if she couldn't she didn't want to make any false promises. This did explain poor Fawna's behavior. Marlena smiled at the woman and thanked her for her help. She listened carefully to all of Jany's instructions. When Jany was done she gathered all her things to leave.

"Now, do I just go and show up or…" Marlena asked.

"Oh no, an escort will come and get you. You will be lead to the royal ballroom. There you will be announced and then you make your grand entrance."

"That sounds terribly formal. Is the king coming to escort me?"

"Oh Ancients no, he needs to be in the ballroom first so that he can greet the guests."

"I see." Marlena felt disappointed. She was hoping to have a few minutes alone to talk to Randor. "Well, I'm ready to go. Where's the escort?"

"You need to wait for him. I need to go now. It was a pleasure helping you get ready Marlena."

"It was a pleasure meeting you. I hope to see you around."

"Oh, probably not. I generally stay in the servants' quarters unless there are special occasions where someone needs my help."

"Maybe I can come visit you."

"Oh that would be a treat." The lady beamed. She curtsied and left.

Marlena tried to return the curtsey but she had already left. She stood in the middle of the empty room feeling lost and alone.

A knock at the door made her jump.

"Are you my escort?" Marlena called out.

"Yes," Came a familiar voice.

"Oh Duncan!" Marlena quickly opened the door. "I need to talk to you."

"You look lovely," Duncan said as he extended his hand.

"Yes, yes, but did you know Fawna's father's in debtor's prison?" She looked at him.

Man-at-Arms frowned. "No, I didn't. That would explain her behavior lately."

"Is there anything we can do?" She asked urgently.

Duncan shook his head. "If he's in debtor prison the only remedy is for the family to work off the debt."

"Can I pay it off somehow?" Marlena asked.

"How can you pay it off?" Duncan asked. "You don't have any currency."

"Can Randor repeal the law?" Marlena asked.

"Even if he did it would not work retroactively. He still needs to pay off his debt." Duncan explained.

"Can Randor forgive the debt or pay it?" Marlena asked hopefully.

Duncan sighed. "That's a little tricky. Forgiving someone else's debt would be akin to robbing the one the debt was owed to. And he can offer to pay the debt but if the person refuses then there's nothing he can do. He's not allowed to coerce anyone."

"Why would anyone refuse payment?"

"Well, unfortunately the original intent of the law has been corrupted. Many use it now to get free labor. The families of the debtors are forced into near slavery trying to work off the debt. "

"That's terrible and so unfair."

"You are right. The law was going to be repealed by King Miro before he disappeared."

"Yes, someone mentioned that. What happened?"

"No one has any idea. He left on a hunting trip one day and never returned." Duncan said sadly.

"How long ago?" Marlena asked.

"Just over a year ago."

"So Randor is a new king." She said softly.

"He was recently crowned after the proper period of mourning."

"Where is the rest of his family?" She asked curious now.

Duncan sighed. "They had either left already or was in the process of leaving when their father disappeared. "

"So he's all alone?" Marlena wondered how he was able to bear all this.

"King Randor has a strong sense of responsibility. He would always do what is best for the kingdom, despite what he feels." Duncan answered.

"I see." Marlena said.

"Well, we're here. Are you ready?" Duncan asked.

"No. But let's get this over with." Marlena said with resignation.

"A word of advice, you must smile. Everyone will be watching you tonight and they will judge you based on how you conduct yourself." Duncan said in earnest.

"No pressure, right?" Marlena asked sarcastically.

Duncan smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You'll do fine. Just be your wonderful self… and smile."

Marlena sighed and closed her eyes for a second. Taking a deep breath, she ran through all her good memories. It wasn't until she thought about Randor that a real smile came to her lips.

"Okay, I'm ready now." She told Duncan.

Duncan nodded. He stepped forward and flung open the doors.

"Announcing our visitor Marlena Glenn!" He yelled after the trumpets sounded. He motioned for Marlena to step forward. Into the bright lights of the ballroom she stepped.

It may have been her imagination but she could have sworn she heard a gasp.

0o0

Randor had been mindlessly circling through the crowds of nobles making small talk. He would impatiently glance at the door every so often seeing if Marlena was there. He knew it was stupid because he would know if she had arrived because it would be announced. Every time the door opened his eyes flew to the entrance. But it was always someone else.

Stratos was making his rounds with the glass The Sorceress gave to check the nobles for the aura. After greeting the new delegate from Avion, Randor privately asked Stratos to specifically check Lady Tala. To Randor's surprise Stratos reported that there was nothing. Randor was sure Lady Tala was involved but then realized she was too wily to have a direct hand in any scheme. Looking over at Stratos, he shook his head yet again to indicate he found nothing. Randor inwardly scowled.

Then the doors opened again and he saw Duncan. Marlena's name was announced to the crowd. He couldn't help but smile but the smile faded into awe as she stepped into the light. Although they had picked out the fabric and dress design, actually seeing it on her was like seeing it for the first time… and Marlena looked like a dream. She seemed to float down the stairs. All the while, in her head, Marlena kept chanting, please don't fall, please don't fall, please don't fall. When she reached the bottom she curtsied as she was taught.

The nobles politely clapped and parted so she could get to Randor to pay her respects. She glided through the pathway and stopped before the king. She curtsied low. It was then the music started. Marlena looked up a little surprise at the suddenness of the melodies.

"May I have this dance?" Randor bowed.

"I…I… don't really know how." Marlena stammered. But Randor ignored her protest. With one hand firmly on her waist and the other gripping her hand he led her in something similar to a waltz. Marlena bit her lip and tried her best to follow his lead.

"How am I doing?" She asked nervously.

"You look beautiful." Randor said as if he didn't hear her question.

"Thank you… and I'm sorry if I step on your feet." She said nervously.

Randor didn't answer. He was too busy staring at her.

Tala stood at a distance. She serenely looked at the couple dancing. It was almost time. When the music ended, Randor led Marlena to the table. Servants distributed glasses filled with amber liquid. Marlena's was a lighter color. "Fruit juice." Randor explained.

Once everyone had a glass in hand, King Randor held up his hand for silence.

"Today we are here to celebrate the arrival of a visitor from space. It has been our pleasure to have her here in our midst. She has shown herself to be brave and honorable. Let us welcome her, Marlena Glenn."

Everyone raised their glass and drank the libation. Tala drained hers and looked at Marlena in anticipation. Marlena raised her glass and brought it to her lips.


End file.
